


Amid the Wreckage

by Revans_Mask



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Action/Adventure, Destroy Ending, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Grief/Mourning, Love/Hate, Past Miranda Lawson/Male Shepard, Post-War, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-04-09 05:07:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 21
Words: 71,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4335014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revans_Mask/pseuds/Revans_Mask
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Miranda Lawson has lost everything.  Shepard is dead, the galaxy is in ruins, and facing trial for her actions with Cerberus, she agrees to help the Alliance with a classified mission that could win her back her freedom.  Unfortunately, the mission may well be suicidal and she's been placed under the command of the last person she wants to deal with: Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story, which is another collaboration with AmityN7, is a little different for me. Male Shepard and everything! Shocking! But since we wanted Miranda and Shepard to have a past, and FemShep belongs with Liara (IMO, anyway, but I wrote the story, so I get to choose), we decided to go with him. Don't worry though, faithful femslash fans, the main romance is a Jack/Miranda one.

The Normandy SR-2: 2185

A moan escaped her lips and her toes curled as the wave of pleasure began to slowly build in her core.  She didn’t believe in heaven but there were few other words adequate to describe what she was feeling.

The man lay on top of her, her fingers digging into the muscles of his shoulders as she threw her head back and cried out. To a woman like Miranda Lawson, love was a childish idea. A foolish notion created to inspire hope in the lonesome.  She used to tell herself it was insignificant, that she required no one else to be content with her place in the universe, to know where she belonged. Yet now, with her lover staring so tenderly into her light eyes, her body wrapped around his, Miranda realized how wrong she’d been.

She cared for this man in a way she’d never cared for another partner.  Most of her romantic experiences had been brief and shockingly dull affairs, largely devoid of real feelings. Shepard was different.

The commander was a good man, one who’d helped her see herself as more than just a tool to be used by others. The woman he’d first met had been a painfully isolated and bitter individual who’d never known what true kindness and warmth could feel like. A woman abused by her father, who’d done terrible things in the service of an organization she’d once believed in for a sister she didn’t actually know.

That woman was gone now.  Miranda wrapped her legs around Shepard’s waist as he stiffened, holding him close as she let out a fierce cry.  Her body fell lax to the mattress beneath her a moment later, followed swiftly by Shepard, the commander taking care to brush aside the strands of dark hair that sweat had glued to her brow.

Miranda gasped for breath as her brilliant mind attempted to wrap itself around the improbability of her current situation. They had survived the Omega Four Relay and defeated the Collectors. The commander was everything she was promised and more, and at the moment, all she could do was stare at him. Unsure of how to explain all that she felt, the operative simply let her eyes speak for her until Shepard said something she wasn’t ready for.

The commander stared out of the viewport above them as he spoke. “Miranda...I love you.”

She still didn’t know what to say.

 …..

**Earth: 2186**

A crack of thunder sounded in the distance as a light rain fell from above. The crowd was eerily still as the water danced on the mahogany coffin that was displayed before them. At the center of the stage where the casket lay stood an old admiral who had no place making a speech about the deceased to his closest friends.

“Though we are gathered here today to mourn, we should also celebrate.  Celebrate because the man whom we have come to bury was worthy of it.  Commander Shepard exemplified much of what was best in the Alliance, in humanity, indeed in all sentient life, and though we are made less by his loss, his sacrifice has ensured a future for all of his, one that we should rejoice in.”

As the admiral continued his eulogy, Miranda Lawson’s face remained impassive.  All around her, people were sobbing and wailing, even many of the hardened warriors who had fought beside Shepard. Liara and Joker, Samantha and Grunt: they all showed their grief on their faces. Yet Miranda’s eyes were dry and not a sound escaped her lips.

She took a heavy swallow as she looked down to her lap and the omni-cuffs locked in position around her wrists. The restraints had begun to chafe her skin and their ever-present glow made sure everyone who laid eyes on her knew she was a prisoner. She paid it as little mind as she could. There were far more important things here.

“We should celebrate the man, celebrate the hero whom without our lives and indeed our entire civilization would not exist.”

 _Celebrate? How much is there really to celebrate?_ Miranda wondered. Shepard was gone along with far too many members of the Normandy’s crew.  Billions upon billions more were dead all across the galaxy, entire planets were in ruin, some destroyed so thoroughly they would probably never recover.

Miranda shook her head, trying to clear it of such thoughts. In spite of the devastation, the Reapers at least were gone, and it wouldn’t do to dishonor all Shepard had done by forgetting that fact.  Her blue eyes snapped back up to the stage and she forced herself to continue listening to the eulogy as she stared at the coffin of the man she had loved.

Above the open casket was a glorious display created from hundreds of flowers and a large portrait of the commander sat above the man’s burned N7 armor. In spite of the dire straits the Earth remained in, no expense had been spared for the funeral of humanity’s greatest hero.

He’s really gone; she thought. So many months spent circumventing nature to bring Shepard back to life, more months spent fighting by his side, and still more worrying over him, and after it all Shepard was dead, for good this time.  Even if Miranda wasn’t displaying her sorrow at that fact so openly it didn’t mean she wasn’t grieving and as the coffin began to be lowered into the ground, she found it hard to focus on anything else.

Still, she never looked away.  No matter how things had ended between them, Miranda had left a piece of her heart with the commander, and he deserved better than to have died just when his burdens should have been laid down.

When the last of the dirt had been piled atop Shepard’s coffin, the assembled crowd began to migrate back towards the large tent that had been erected in the middle of the remains of the Vancouver park where the Alliance had decided to bury their hero. Few of the other attendees paid her any mind. Once, she had been an important woman but now, it was hard not to feel like one of those relics the Protheans had left behind, someone who’s time had passed.

She wasn’t entirely ignored though.  When Miranda rose from her seat and made her way down the center aisle towards the commander’s grave many of the people she passed glared at her, hatred vivid in their eyes.  With the Reapers gone, Cerberus was the only enemy left to blame for the wretched state of much of the galaxy and she was one of the most visible remnants of the Illusive Man’s once-mighty organization.

Even among the old crew of the Normandy there was scant comfort to be found. Jack, of course, had always hated her, while Samara regard her a little more than a criminal to be brought to justice. Grunt and Kasumi had no complaint with her, but they were not friends either, merely people she had worked with for a time.  Far too many of the rest were dead: Zaeed, killed at the Collector Base; Mordin, giving his life to cure the Genophage; Thane, who fell defending the Salarian Councilor from Kai Leng; Legion, shot by Tali on Rannoch…  And of course, her only real friend in the crew, Jacob, had lost his life in the last battle here on Earth. Now, he was buried with his beloved Brynne and promptly forgotten by everyone except Miranda.

As for the other survivors of her time aboard the SR-2, they had other priorities.  Ashley Williams was doing her best to remain composed, but there was no mistaking the pain on her face. Garrus had his arm around the marine’s shoulder, and much of the rest of the original Normandy’s crew were clustered around her as well, offering what comfort they could.  The turian looked up as Miranda reached the edge of the grave, but aside from his brief nod, the group didn’t acknowledge her presence.

The rain began to pick up as they stood there, heavy drops soaking Miranda’s face as she stared down into the grave.  “I’m sorry, Shepard,” she whispered.

“What are you doing here?”

She spun at the anguished question, and found herself looking at the same Spectre she’d been observing earlier, familiar anger accompanying the heartbreak in Ashley’s eyes. Much of the rest of the crew looked uncomfortable, but they said nothing as the two women faced each other.

Miranda did her best to remain stoic as she replied.  “I came to pay my respects.”

“And now you have.”  She could see a whirl of emotions playing across Ashley’s face, hurt and grief and resentment all mixing together in those four words.  Unlike most of the people here, the Spectre’s ire had little to do with Miranda’s past ties to Cerberus.  Shepard had broken both of their hearts, and even if the operative’s pain was fresher, she knew Ashley’s had never entirely faded.

There was a defiant edge to Miranda’s voice when she replied.  “I have every right to be here.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Besides, I think you’ve done quite enough already.”

“Lt. Williams, I…”

Ashley held up a hand, and Miranda could see fresh tears starting to overwhelm her anger.  “Don’t.  Just leave.  Please.”

Miranda thought about saying something more but in the end, restraint won the day.  In spite of her pain over his choice of Ashley, she wasn’t going to dishonor Shepard’s memory by fighting with his lover at his funeral.

She cast one last look into the commander’s grave before striding back down the aisle in silence.  There was nothing more for her here, and so she simply went to rejoin the stone-faced marines who were assigned to guard her.

“We’re leaving.” Miranda said to the soldiers as if she had any control over them. “Take me back to lock-up.”

_At least I can get some bloody privacy there._

The larger of the two men snorted.  “Change of plans. Admiral Harris wants to speak with you at HQ.”

“About what?”

The other marine reached out and grabbed his prisoner harshly by the arm, yanking her in the the direction of their skycar. “Doesn’t matter to me.”

…….

The ride to the Alliance’s main headquarters, located in what passed for the intact part of downtown Vancouver, had been long and silent. The two marines the navy had assigned to guard her in the brief moments she was allowed out of her cell were dumb muscle who’d glared at her with the same expression everyone else shot her way but said nothing. Miranda never would’ve thought she could miss the lustful looks that had once been most people’s first reaction to her, but there it was.

They’d deposited her in a waiting room outside of Admiral Harris’ office. The beige walls and uncomfortable couch of the repurposed office building were, she suspected, a preview of an unpleasant meeting to come.  Running through its possible causes, she came up with little positive.  The only comforting thought she could find was that it probably wasn’t worth an admiral’s time just to tell her she was going to rot in a cell for the rest of her life.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed at first the increasing number of Alliance personnel who’d begun to funnel into the waiting area. Soon enough though, the crowd had gathered around her, but despite an ugly energy to the crowd, her guards didn’t seem interested.

“You know who this is?” The apparent leader of the bunch was a bald major with a scar over his right eye that looked like it might have come from a Husk’s claws.   _Or a Phantom’s sword_. “This here’s the Illusive Man’s favorite bitch. I heard about it on the vids. They say Miranda Lawson was that blue eyed fuck’s right hand woman. Or am I mistaken?”

Miranda narrowed her eyes into menacing slits.  “Piss off.”

“Looks like she’s kept her Cerberus charm, too. You have any idea what your little organization cost us?”

A haggard private with dark, haunted eyes set into her sunken face chimed in next. “My whole damn unit was killed by Cerberus!”

“My wife and daughter were slaughtered at Sanctuary by those animals!”, an older man snarled, as half a dozen more soldiers began to voice their own horror stories.

“Sanctuary.”  The leader repeated the word like a curse, cutting off the rest of the crowd.  “Way I hear it, Miranda’s daddy ran that horror show himself. Apple didn’t fall too far from the tree I reckon.”

“I am nothing like my father!”  She regretted the outburst as soon as it left her lips.  She shouldn’t have let them get a rise out of her but her father was a sore spot, especially since she’d been the one to kill him.

“Hope you enjoy the Alliance’s hospitality while it lasts, Lawson. Before long, we’ll have you strung up next to your Cerberus friends and if the navy doesn’t have the balls to do it themselves, I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will be more than happy to help out.”  The man leaned in close, cupping his hand under Miranda’s chin, and the hate she saw in his eyes left little doubt that he was among them.

“Get your hands off me.”

Her voice was a low hiss, but he was either too stupid or too arrogant to read the menace in it.  “Or what?”

In a flash, Miranda wiped the satisfied grin off his face when she jabbed her cuffed hands upwards.  Her open palm collided with the man’s nose, a crunch leaving no doubt that she’d broken the bone.  He reeled backwards and let out a shrill cry as he collapsed onto his ass.  The rest of the mob sprang into action, ready to tear Miranda limb from limb, but at last her guards started doing their job.  The two marines surrounded her, shoving the angry crowd back, but as the struggle intensified a harsh voice cut through the noise.

“Stand down!”

The room fell silent and the Alliance soldiers all snapped a salute to the tall man wearing dress blues who’d appeared in the office doorway.

“What the hell is going on here?”, the admiral barked. “Guards, detain these men and keep them in lock-up until I know what to do with them.”

“But sir!”, the man with the broken nose protested, “It was the Cerberus woman’s fault-”

“Another word, soldier and you’ll be court martialed faster than you can blink. This woman is an Alliance prisoner and she will be treated as such.”  The admiral turned back to Miranda’s guards.  “Get these men out of my sight.”

As the angry mob was led out of the room, Miranda finally was able to get a good look at the man. He was handsome in a mature way.  His black hair had started to go grey at the temples and his chin was nearly statuesque.  With perfect posture, he gestured for Miranda to enter his office.

“I’m Admiral Harris. Please take a seat, Ms. Lawson.”

“Thank you.”  Miranda settled into the chair in front of the desk while the admiral did the same with the one behind it.

“That was unacceptable. You have my apologies on behalf of the Alliance.”  Lawson only nodded and he continued.  “I imagine that’s not the first time that’s happened.”

As he spoke, she could feel his gaze turning to the faded bruise over her eye.  “I’m used to it.”  

“You have to see things from their point of view. The Reapers are gone and they don’t have anyone left to hate but Cerberus. The Illusive Man might be dead but there’s still hundreds of Cerberus operatives unaccounted for….thousands perhaps. There’s still so much we don’t know about the extent of the organization.”

“Is that why I’m here? You want information?”

“No. Officially, Cerberus is the least of the Alliance’s concerns. Honestly, everything is a fucking mess right now. There’s so much reconstruction to be done it’ll take us decades to get back to even half of what we used to be. Our losses were staggering, far worse then we could have ever prepared for, and with Hackett still MIA, the brass is in shambles. We’re stretched far too thin to worry about Cerberus stragglers and holdouts.”

“Officially.” Miranda suspected there was a “but” coming.

The admiral gave her a small smile. “You catch on quickly. The reports said you were exceptionally smart.”

“Perhaps you should get to the reason I was brought here.”  She knew she shouldn’t be rude to the man given her circumstances, but after the day she’d had, it was hard to give a damn.

Admiral Harris took a deep breath. “I’ll be blunt, Ms. Lawson. I’m probably the last friend you’ve got right now. Most of the galaxy wants nothing more than to see all of Cerberus’ heads on spikes, much of the navy’s brass included. I won’t sugarcoat it, there’s been talk about prosecuting you for war crimes.”

“Me? You know as well as I do that I left Cerberus at the same time that Shepard did. I supported the war effort and I surrendered myself to the Alliance willingly once it was over!”

Harris threw up his hands. “I know. If were up to me you’d be out of those cuffs already.” He pointed to the restraints around Miranda’s wrists. “But the fact is Shepard is gone and the Alliance needs to take into account how people feel about this situation. Are you a student of history, Ms. Lawson?”

Miranda nodded.

“I am too and with the way the winds are blowing, we’re well on our way to a new Red Scare. People are already dragging folks they think were part of Cerberus out of their homes and...well...the reality is you're the biggest Cerberus asset we have in custody.  Serving aboard the Normandy also makes you the most famous. The brass isn’t above throwing you to the wolves to placate the people.”

“Is that why I’m here then? So you can apologize for executing me?”

“I don’t want to see you executed, Lawson. I’ve read all of Shepard’s reports and in my book, you’re a damned hero. But nobody else sees it that way. You’re here because I’m going to give you a chance to change that. I have a mission for you. Something the Alliance can’t officially acknowledge and will outright deny if it goes to shit. What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room, understood?

“I know how to keep a secret, admiral.”

“The Illusive Man is dead…. But Cerberus isn’t. Are you familiar with the planet Typhon?”

“Somewhat. It was home to a Cerberus military installation but I never saw the base myself.”

“Typhon used to be the Alliance’s pet project. A perfectly habitable world in the Traverse that the Council gifted to humanity. We put billions of credits into turning it into a symbol of humanity’s willingness to accept the other species. Before the Reapers hit, millions of civilians of all different races lived in the capital city. The population was primarily human of course, but still, the Alliance used Typhon as it’s little media darling. Little did we know that Cerberus had been building up a base there right under our noses.”

“To my knowledge the Typhon base was used to train Cerberus’ infantry prior to the switch to indoctrinated troops.”

“I see.  Do you know how many men would have been on the base when the Reaper’s invaded?”

Miranda shrugged. “Thousands probably.”

Harris sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

A bad feeling was starting to brew in Miranda’s gut.  “You said Cerberus isn’t dead. Explain.”

“We lost contact with Typhon a week after the invasion. It got hit hard by the Reapers and we hadn’t heard anything after that.  At first, we just assumed they’d wiped it out completely.”

“Until?”

“Until last week.  An Alliance scouting patrol in the Traverse picked up a ship full of turians. It turns out they were fleeing from Typhon and what were able to gather from them is… rather unsettling. The Cerberus forces stationed there have seized control over the entire planet and it’s population. We don’t know what their numbers are but we know that any force capable of holding down a planet, even a colony world, is enough to cause us problems, especially in our current state. The brass is concerned that given enough time Cerberus will be able to piece itself back together and...who knows? Overthrow the Alliance? Launch another war?”

“You must know more than that.”

Harris nodded. “The Cerberus forces are being lead by a man named Anthony Ford. Are you familiar with him?”

Miranda let the name sink in for a moment before nodding.  “I do. He was the Illusive Man’s second most important military advisor after Oleg Petrovsky. An ex-Alliance general I believe.”

“You knew him well?”

“Not exactly. However the Illusive Man did order me to perform surgery on Ford a few years before I served on the Normandy. He had a severe heart murmur, so I replaced his heart with a synthetic replacement I developed. It saved his life. That was the last I ever saw of him.”

“Well, apparently he’s recovered quite well. The turians told us that Ford has the entire planet under his thumb and we’re willing to bet he’s Cerberus’ only remaining head.”

“You said you have a mission for me, admiral.”

“Cut off the head.” Harris said. “The Alliance can’t spare the men to retake Typhon, especially given how much we still don’t know. We’d have no idea what we’d be sending our boys into there and frankly we’re not willing to risk what few forces we still have.”

“But you’re willing to risk me.  You want me to go to Typhon and kill Ford for you.”

“Exactly.” Harris said. “I won’t lie, It’s probably a suicide mission. But if you pull this off, if you can stop these bastards once and for all....I can guarantee you’ll be pardoned for all past crimes and we’ll make sure the whole galaxy knows you’re the woman who finished off Cerberus.”

Miranda didn’t even need to think about it. What else was there for her?  Rotting in a cell until the Alliance tried her for her past crimes or until the people of Earth dragged her out of that cell and lynched her in the street? She was as good as dead no matter what that way.

“Perfect.” Miranda said, allowing herself a bit of gallows humor. “I do love a good suicide mission.”

“There’s one more thing. The Alliance doesn’t want to send off one of our prisoners entirely without supervision. We need someone to ensure that once you’re set free you’ll still complete the mission instead of disappearing into the shadows. But like I said, we’re not willing to spare too many people on this. Thankfully we found someone who seems to have a vested interest in stopping Cerberus. Someone I believe you already know.”

Miranda furrowed her brow, trying to guess what that meant. “Who?”

The Admiral’s omni-tool lit up as he opened a line of communication. “Is she here, Lt. Marcus?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Send her in.”

Moments later, the door to the office slid open behind Miranda and before she could turn around to greet her new Alliance sanctioned guardian, the woman spoke.

“Fuck… Just looking at you, cheerleader, I’m regretting agreeing to this already.”

Miranda spun around and her eyes widened at the sight of Jack leaning up against the doorframe with her arms crossed.  The biotic wore a tattered Alliance uniform that she had strategically cut up to display as much of her tattooed skin as possible. She’d changed her hair too, cutting off her ponytail and slicking back the longer hair on top of her head.  

The hatred in her eyes had stayed the same though, and Miranda failed to stifle a distraught, “Jack?!”, before turning back to the admiral.  “Surely, there must be someone else you can send.”

“Aww what’s a matter, princess? You too much of a pussy to work with me?”

“There’s nobody else,” Admiral Harris informed her.  “Jack volunteered. This is the deal, Ms. Lawson. Either you agree to go into Jack’s custody or you remain in ours.”

“Say that again.” Jack sounded much too eager for Miranda’s taste. “The Cerberus cheerleader is gonna be under my command?”

“As an officer of the Alliance… yes, you will be in command of this mission.”

Jack’s grin didn’t make Miranda any more comfortable.  “I take it back. I don’t regret this at all.”

“There’s no time to think about it.  Either you’re in now or this doesn’t happen at all. So what do you say, Lawson?”

Miranda gritted her teeth as she stared at Jack’s smirking face. “I’m in.” she said. _Just when I thought I’d hit bottom..._


	2. Chapter 2

They hadn’t given her a window. After everything Miranda had done to protect the galaxy and despite the fact that she’d surrendered herself peacefully into their custody, they’d still tossed her in a windowless cell in the underground detention facility below Alliance command. Miranda had spent most of the two months that followed the Reaper's defeat in isolation and misery inside that damned room.

The bed was uncomfortable, the temperature always a bit too cold, and the sole human contact she’d had outside of her debriefs were the occasional threats and taunts that her guards shouted at her through the meal slot on her door. About the only things she’d had to pass the time had been what little of the extranet was still functioning and a low-grade comm device. She'd used it twice to speak with Oriana at the beginning of her incarceration, but ever since it, had been left dormant.

It wasn't as if Ori bore any ill-will towards her older sister but the girl had a real family who needed her. The family who had raised her, not the strange woman who’d showed up out of nowhere one day. She was happy for Oriana; she had the normal life that Miranda never could, and trying to be too close to her now would only ruin that.

Miranda sat down on her stiff bed and took a moment to collect herself. At long last, her time in this hell was coming to a close. Her personal effects had been returned and she had wasted no time changing into her old white catsuit, even allowing herself the simple pleasure of doing her hair before leaving for good. While the circumstances were hardly ideal, at least she'd be out of the cell and have someone to keep her company. Even if that person was Jack.

How bad could it be?

Before she had the time to ponder what a stupid thought that was, her cell door suddenly swooshed open and Miranda jumped to her feet and offered her wrists. A large, balding marine stepped inside, greeting her with a wordless scowl. He slapped a pair of omni-cuffs around her wrists and yanked her forward. Miranda didn't bother giving her quarters a final look.

The marine escorted her to the elevator and they rode the lift in silence until they reached the roof of Alliance command. When the doors opened however, she was surprised to see that a crowd had gathered, lining the pathway to the landing pad where a modest transport ship was waiting. Miranda took a deep breath before the marine shoved her forward, forcing her to walk through the mob of Alliance soldiers who'd come to see her off.

"Bitch!" The insult was thrown from somewhere in the back of the crowd.

"Traitor! Terrorist!"

Ever more verbal attacks, some of them obscene, were hurled from the angry throng but Miranda didn't react. She walked towards the ship at a steady pace, a practiced, cold detachment on her face. Several news crews had apparently been invited as well and a small camera drone suddenly flew out from the crowd and hovered in front of her face. She imagined further hordes of misguided idiots sitting by their vidscreens, watching her with hatred in their eyes. In that moment she felt the full weight of an entire galaxy's anger resting squarely on her shoulders. It wasn't just humanity who loathed her. Cerberus had given nearly every race a reason to want blood and now, those lucky enough to survive the Reapers had their scapegoat, the target they had all been desperately searching for. The Alliance was giving the people what they wanted; an enemy.

Keep your chin up, dammit. Don't give them the satisfaction.

More cameras and vid-recorders documented her walk until, after what felt like an eternity, her guard had finally led her to the ship's extended cargo ramp. Admiral Harris stood in the center of the ramp with his arms crossed, stepping forward and gently taking her by the elbow.

"I have it from here, son."

The admiral dismissed Miranda's guard and, after a salute, the marine slipped back into the crowd.  Without saying a word, Harris lead her up into the cargo-bay so they could have some privacy.

"I apologize for the side-show."

Harris gave her a sympathetic look as he said it, but it was hard for her to control her frustration.  "What the hell was that? You said this mission was off the books."

"It is. Officially, the Alliance is transporting you to a detention facility on Luna to await trial. We couldn't just have you vanish without an explanation, now could we? Especially with all the scrutiny your case is under."

Miranda narrowed her blue eyes in disgust; she had made a deal with this man in order to help solve the navy's troubles and he still offered her to the wolves. At the same time, she understood the decision.  Frankly, she doubted Harris had much say in the matter at all.

She raised her cuffed wrists. "Can we dispense with these now?”

"Not my call. From now on, you answer to Jack. If she wants you uncuffed, it's her decision."

"Under Jack's command?" Miranda repeated like it was a joke. "I still cannot believe you think that letting Jack lead an Alliance mission is a wise decision.  She can hardly string a clean sentence together, let alone give proper orders."

"Between the two of you, she's the only member of the Alliance. I pulled a lot of strings to get you this shot but there was no way I could ever get the rest of the brass to agree to put you in command. As for Jack's qualifications… we figured Shepard's endorsement was qualification enough. Jack is a capable soldier, and hell, on the Normandy alone, she probably saw more action than most of our marines. Besides, according to Shepard's reports she's better motivated than anyone to complete this mission. Once we brought her in, she volunteered without a moment's hesitation."

"She's a bloody liability."

"I'm aware of your history with her but I trust that you're both mature enough to move past that."

"I’ll complete the mission, with or without her help."

"Glad to hear it. From here on out, it's up to you two to complete your objective using any methods you see fit. However, I will warn you, you are to send all intel you can on Typhon back to the Alliance. Otherwise, we'll have to assume you've gone rouge. If that happens, there won't be anything more I can do to protect you."

Miranda nodded curtly. She didn't exactly feel protected now, but there was no need to point that out. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah… good luck. Believe it or not, I'm rooting for you to succeed, Lawson.  Shepard spoke highly of you.  I hope for your sake his faith in your abilities wasn't misplaced."  Harris gave her a nod before he walked down the cargo ramp. It rose up behind him, sealing the ship, and her inside of it.

Miranda took a deep breath before she climbed the narrow staircase that connected the cargo-bay to the ship's common area behind the cockpit.  When she arrived at the top, the door opened and Miranda was confronted with the sight of Jack.

The convict was leaning back in a mess hall chair, a bottle of beer in her hand and a half empty six pack resting on the room’s central table. Her brown hair was slicked back on the top and ran down the back of her neck while the sides of her head had been cut short. The biotic’s Alliance uniform had been abandoned in favor of a ratty looking white tank-top that left her tattooed stomach exposed and her small but pert breasts practically in plain view through the nearly see-through material. Miranda was hardly surprised that the girl’s wardrobe had not improved in her absence but she fought the urge to gawk at the sight further and instead cleared her throat.

Jack looked down from the ceiling she’d been staring at and her contempt was instantly clear. Her full lips twisted into an expression of disgust before she took another swig of her beer.

Might as well start things off civil.  "Hello, Jack."

The convict rolled her eyes and jumped to her feet.  "Don't even start with that bullshit."

"Excuse me?"

Jack grabbed the studded black leather jacket she had draped around the back of her chair and shrugged it onto her shoulders. "There is no fresh start between you and me, cheerleader. I'm here to do a job and that's it."

"I am too."

Jack took another sip of beer.  "Yeah. Real convenient how you've decided to turn your back on Cerberus now that they’re toast."

"I'm not doing this with you." Miranda raised her wrists to the woman. "Now get these off me."

"Why the hell should I?"

"Because someone needs to fly the bloody ship."

Jack shrugged.  "I'm sure you'll figure it out, princess. You’re so superior, right?"

Miranda tried to fight the urge to snap back but Jack had a way of pissing her off like nobody else.  “You really want to do this? All right. Why don’t we get it all out in the open before we leave?”

“Gladly.” Jack sounded positively giddy at the prospect of a fight, and Miranda could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up in response.  

“Fine.  To begin with, I didn’t leave Cerberus because it was convenient, and you bloody well know that.  I left at the same time Shepard did, after the mission to the Collector Base.”

That stupid, smug grin didn’t leave Jack’s face.  “Yeah, well, some of us didn’t need Shepard’s dick to see Cerberus for what it was.  Must’ve really burned you up when he dumped your ass for Williams the first chance he got.  I guess the big tits and genetically engineered bubble butt only get you so far.”

Miranda’s face tightened at the string of insults.  Jack’s words hit far too close to home.  Her attractiveness had conditioned her to think of herself as irresistible but the first man she’d ever really loved had ended up choosing someone else. Lacking a proper comeback, she changed tactics instead.  “I really don’t know what I ever did to you, Jack.  Yes, I was a member of Cerberus, but I didn’t know anything about the Pragia facility, and I left once I realized the full extent of the Illusive Man’s plans.”

Jack spat.  “And you think bailing wipes out all the shit you did for him?”

“What I did?  What about you?  I’ve seen your dossier and the list of crimes you committed makes whatever I might have done in Cerberus’ service pale by comparison. You’re an animal. The Alliance should be keeping you on a short leash, not putting you in charge of missions.”

“Really?  Well, if I’m so terrible, why are you the one in cuffs, and I’m the one with the key?”  Jack reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a small electronic device that Miranda assumed could be used to deactivate her restraints, waving it in front of her.

“Yes, because other people’s opinions always determine the truth of the matter.  I’m sure you really believe that.  Now, will you just let me out of these damn cuffs?”

Jack spun the key around on the table before putting it back in her pocket.  “Don’t get your panties in a bunch, cheerleader.  You’ll get out when I’m good and ready.”

She crossed her arms under her chest, shooting her most withering look at Jack.  “Then I suggest you get ready, Jack.  Not only do I need my hands free to fly this ship, but I seriously doubt that having one of us bound will improve our odds of surviving this mission.”

All that statement earned her was a roll of Jack’s big, brown eyes.  Miranda had always found them to be odds with the rest of the convict, the one pretty part of a woman who insisted on being anything but.  Now, though, they were just as irritating as the rest of her.  “You really think we’re going to survive?  God, you’re even dumber than you look. Harris sent you on this mission to get rid of you. You actually think he expects us to pull this off?”

Miranda sat down across from the convict.  “If you really believe that, than why are you here?  Surely, even you wouldn’t find the opportunity to torment me to be worth dying for.”

Jack shrugged. “Ain’t got shit else to do, I guess.”

The convict was clearly trying to give her excuse casually, but Miranda wasn’t convinced.  There had been a hollowness in her voice, and as she examined Jack more carefully, she could see that same weariness on her face.  Jack didn’t look as if she’d been sleeping well, and the angry arrogance she usually carried herself with had felt forced.

“And why is that?”, she asked.  “What became of your job at Grissom Academy?  Were you fired from it already? I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Jack’s face suddenly changed, twisting into a mask of rage.  “Fuck you, cheerleader.  That’s none of your goddamn business.”

She raised an eyebrow.  “Really?  Because I thought that we were clearing the…”

Before she could even finish her sentence, a blue light filled her field of vision, and Miranda found herself thrown to the ground.  Jack was looming over her now, the biotic glow surrounding the convict making her seem far larger than she really was.  “Do not fucking talk about Grissom! Next time I have to remind you, it’ll hurt a lot more.”  She spun around on her heels, but not before tossing the key on the ground next to Miranda.  “Let yourself out and get us moving, bitch.  I’m through talking to you.”

As Jack walked away, Miranda picked up the key, shaking her head.  Not only was she stuck on what appeared to be a suicide mission, but apparently her partner had found a way to go even crazier than before.  A part of her wondered why the mention of Grissom Academy had set her off but she pushed the thought from her mind. There was nothing to be done about it for now, and so she unlocked her wrists, rubbing them to help the circulation return.

Jack had stormed off into the ship’s cockpit and Miranda did her best to ignore her when she stepped into the room herself. The freighter was nothing fancy and the controls were simple enough, taking her only a minute to get a handle on. She sat at the helmsman’s chair while Jack positioned herself in the co-pilot’s seat with her back facing Miranda. The operative returned the silence as her hands fell to the ship’s controls.  A lurch of acceleration accompanied their departure from the ground, and she spared a final glance out the window at the crowd on the ground below, many of whom were looking up with what she could only imagine was seething hatred.

Will they ever accept me, even if I do this?

She shook her head. Her time with Shepard had made her go soft.  Miranda didn’t require these people’s acceptance, only that they leave her alone.  The rest she could figure out for herself, assuming she actually survived this cluster fuck.

Danger was not going to be hard to find; even the trip to Typhon would be fraught with peril.  Though the relays had been largely repaired from the damage caused by the Crucible, they were not yet as reliable as they’d once been.  The mission dossier she’d been given to study contained reports of drift an order of magnitude or more greater than usual. There was no telling where the ship was going to come out, and that could be dangerous, especially with the space lanes in disarray from the fighting.

After a couple of silent hours of travel, the relay was growing larger in her view and Miranda took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the jump.  She charted the course to Typhon’s nearest relay and strapped herself into the chair. It might have been easier to simply ignore her partner but she had to make some effort to be the grown-up here.  As much as they might dislike each other, there was no way they would survive this without a measure of cooperation.

“Brace yourself.  I’m about to take us through.”  Jack only grunted in response.

Tendrils of blue energy shot out from the relay and latched onto their ship as they drew near. Seconds later, there was a sickening lurch and for an instant, the whole world turned white before the scene outside of the viewport suddenly changed.

“Shit!”  Jack cursed as Miranda’s hands jumped for the transport’s steering controls. The planet’s orbit was littered with the wreckage of dozens of ships and even intact Reaper corpses, creating a sort of minefield around the world into which they had just been spat.  As the remains of an Alliance frigate hurled towards them, there was little more Miranda could do other than brace for impact.


	3. Chapter 3

“Hang on!”, Miranda cried out.  She could pick out at least a dozen lifeless Reaper corpses floating in the space between the relay and the planet’s surface and in-between the fallen giants, the area was littered with the wreckage of dozens of ships belonging to Typhon’s long-dead defenders. The shredded starships formed a tight web of debris that Miranda and Jack now found themselves barreling towards, with the broken shell of an Alliance frigate presenting the most obvious threat.  Miranda pitched the ship as far to the left as she could but, she was sure that even Joker couldn’t have entirely avoided the massive wreck. 

“Shit!” Jack screamed as their ship collided with the frigate.  The impact tore into their hull and a dozen different alerts began to blare on the flight console, the ship’s lights blinking on and off while the its VI calmly listed off the damage.

“Hull integrity compromised.”

“Inertial Dampeners compromised.”

“Shields offline.”  

“What does that mean?”  Even over the blaring emergency siren, the terror in Jack’s voice was clear.

“It means we’re crashing!”,  Miranda snapped back as she struggled to keep the engines online by diverting power from the environmental systems.

“What can I do?”

“Find us breather masks.  There should be some EVA suits by the airlock that you can disassemble.”

Jack quickly unbuckled her harness and sprang up from her seat.  No sooner had she found her balance though than the ship bucked and Jack was tossed to the deck. Miranda didn’t spare a look behind her as her companion was sent crashing about, too focused on the Reaper their ship was now spinning towards.  The controls were rapidly growing more unresponsive and even while Miranda steered the dying vessel, two of the interface screens were flickering, a sign that the ship’s power levels were dropping.

“Dammit!”  Miranda pulled the ship back as far as she could but the Reaper still was drawing closer and closer in the viewport.  Her heart was racing but her hands were perfectly calm.  She recognized all of her piloting skill wouldn’t mean anything if Jack couldn’t find their oxygen masks. Her life, she realized, was in the convict’s hands.

_Bloody perfect._

The Reaper corpse was only a few hundred yards away now and Miranda’s usual calm was beginning to fail her. Fear gripped her as she put everything the thrusters had into a hard break to the left.  Mercifully, the transport skated past without making contact but her victory was short lived.  Beyond the Reaper, Miranda was confronted with even more debris that had been caught in Typhon’s orbit, creating a dense wall of wreckage. With their engines and power failing, she saw no way past the obstruction, which meant their only chance was to smash through it.

“Jack!”, she screamed as she eyed the falling oxygen levels on the regulator display, “I need you now!”  Her head was already growing light and try as she might to fight it, tunnel vision was beginning to take hold.  Miranda sucked in a deep breath and held it in.

_Where in hell is Jack with those masks?_

The ship lurched, and from behind her, she could hear the sound of Jack rattling around in the confined space of the airlock.  Hopefully, her barriers would shield her from the worst of the impacts, but the only thing she seemed to be accomplishing was running off a string of increasingly foul curses as she was tossed to and fro.

Miranda wrestled with the controls, and at last, she was able to force the wounded ship to level out somewhat.  From the airlock, Jack snarled, “About damn time,” but Miranda was too busy regulating her breathing to reply.  Indeed, it was taking all of her concentration to do that and keep the transport from throwing her partner off her feet again, and it wasn’t until she heard, “Catch, bitch!”, yelled from behind her that she realized Jack had made it back.

Too relieved to be angry at the insult, she spun around and snatched the helmet that was being tossed at her out of the air.  She wasted no time in securing it over her head. The oxygen seal tightened around her neck and she took a long breath while Jack strapped herself in.  Once the helmet was firmly in place and her breathing had returned to normal, Miranda re-routed all remaining power from the air recycling systems, diverting it into the shields and thrusters.

“What the fuck are you doing now?!”, Jack snapped while she stared at the wall of wreckage they were fast approaching.

“We’re going through it.”

“If we die, I’m gonna kill you, cheerleader.”

“Shut up and hold on!”

The two women were pushed back into their seats as the ship rocketed forward.  Miranda kept her grip on the controls, her eyes glued to the relatively thin point in the wreckage field she had decided on as her entry point.  The cockpit’s lights flickered, Jack let out a string of obscenities, and the entire vessel churned violently, yet Miranda’s hands stayed steady. The ship smashed into the debris like a meteor and the two women shook in their seats, only the safety harnesses tethering them in place preventing their bones from being smashed to powder.

A piece of metal smashed into the viewport, cracking the window.  Seconds later, the lights in the cabin finally gave out, a final, weak flash signaling their death.  And yet, she’d succeeded.  The ship had passed through the wreckage and into the upper reaches of Typhon’s atmosphere.  Miranda spared a glance over at the navigations console. Their LZ’s coordinates were still programmed in and with what little control she had remaining, Miranda attempted to course correct and hit their landing site.

With the added boost Typhon’s gravity granted, their ship was hurtling towards the surface faster with each passing second. Miranda had to hope the ship’s shields had enough life left to get them to the planet without everyone on board dying.  Soon enough, outer space gave way to clouds and then sky.  In the distance, Miranda could see their destination, a large city with towering skyscrapers.  However, it was miles north of the lake they were speeding towards, which might have been for the best considering how quickly they were approaching.  Crashing into an urban center at full speed wasn’t exactly a good idea.

“Pull up!”, Jack screamed.

Miranda didn’t need the other woman’s advice to even the ship out, but Lawson knew there was no avoiding it even if she’d wanted to; they were going into the water.  It would create some new problems, but it was also their best chance to survive the crash.

“I hope you’re a strong swimmer, Jack.”

“Don’t you fucking say that!”

The bottom of the hull scraped along the surface of the water before the sudden friction flipped the ship forward. The water engulfed it starting from the bow and the cracked viewport filled with bubbles.  A massive splash erupted from the lake as their ship was sucked into it’s depths.  Miranda and Jack were thrown forward, the force of the harnesses pulling on them hard enough to knock the air out of their lungs.

Miranda bit back the pain, fairly sure she had just cracked a rib.  She unbuckled her harness.  “We have to go.”

The two women climbed through the wreckage of the ship until they found themselves in the airlock.  “I thought you were supposed to be smart or something.”  Jack snarled, clearly unnerved by their predicament.

“We should be all right.  We do have the oxygen masks.  Now, do you want to complain or do you want to get out of here?”

Jack only nodded and without another word, Miranda pushed her up against the wall and went to work on the airlock’s seal.  She overrode the lock with her omni-tool and the door popped open, letting in a flood of water.  The women were swept off their feet and tossed around like dirty clothes in a washing machine.  Soon enough, the airlock was filled with water and it was time for their escape.

Miranda and Jack swam out through the airlock, leaving their ship to its watery grave.  The surface was high above them and the water was freezing, but their helmets still supplied much-needed oxygen.  At least Miranda’s did.

Behind her, Jack was kicking her feet wildly.  Miranda wasn’t surprised she wasn’t the strongest swimmer; the Teltin facility probably didn’t have a swim team like the expensive prep schools she’d attended.  Still, the biotic seemed to know the basic concept, but it wasn’t the girl’s swimming that had Miranda concerned at the moment.  The seal in her helmet must have been damaged, either by the crash or the pressure, because water was beginning to fill up inside her mask, and the surface was still a good sixty feet away.

Miranda carved through the water with frantic speed, but with only a few strokes left before she reached the surface, she spared a look over her shoulder and all at once her ascent was halted.   Twenty feet below her, Jack floated.  The convict was motionless, and Lawson realized that Jack’s helmet must have been filling with water even before her own.  Miranda looked back up to the surface she had almost reached.

_Dammit, you better thank me for this._

Miranda turned back down towards her partner, and reached out with a biotic field, wrapping it around Jack and pulling her closer.  She took her last breath as the water filled her mask, as Jack still sat suspended and lifeless when she reached her.

_Why am I doing this?  What do I really owe her?_

She wrapped an arm around the other woman and began the journey to the surface once more. The convict’s deadweight threatened to pull them both down to the depths permanently.  Her vision started to darken, and her lungs burned, but Miranda had made her choice, and she never quit.  The surface of the lake was just a few feet away now, and she could see the sun reflecting off it from below.

_Almost there._

Her kicks started to lose their strength.  Her throat tightened as she struggled to hold her breath. Jack seemed twice as heavy as she had before, and it would be so easy to just let her go and save herself.  Without Jack, there would be nobody to stop Miranda from escaping custody.  Her companion’s death was her ticket to freedom and yet Miranda’s grip never loosened.

At last they broke the surface.  Miranda quickly pulled the mask from her face and took a deep breath of air before she pulled Jack’s head above water as well.  She stripped the helmet from the convict and a flood of water came pouring out but the woman was still limp in her arms.

Thankfully, the lake’s shore was nearby and Miranda dragged Jack there without too much more trouble.  She laid her down on the sands and, kneeling before her, she began CPR immediately. She opened Jack’s airway by tilting her head back before she pinched the woman’s nose closed. Miranda took a deep breath before she bent down and brought their lips together.

_Two one second breaths, watch for the chest rising._

When Jack still didn’t move, she started compressions.  As she pressed down on the woman’s chest, Miranda was shocked to realize she actually cared if Jack died.  As Miranda counted off her chest compressions, she recalled the horrors they had found on Pragia, the nightmare Cerberus had put Jack through.  She remembered too the hurtful words she herself had spat at Jack when the woman simply wanted Miranda to admit that what Cerberus had done to her was wrong.

“Dammit, Jack.  Come on.  Don’t you dare die.  For once in your miserable life, just listen to me and wake the hell up,” she demanded before bringing their lips together once more.

_Please_.

Suddenly, a sharp push sent Miranda rolling onto the sand.  She looked up and saw Jack gasping for air as she coughed up water and rubbed her lips with the back of her hand.

Jack spat in the sand next to Miranda.  “Next time let me die, cheerleader.”

Miranda couldn’t help but smirk at her discomfort.  “You’re welcome.”

The tattooed woman fell back to the sand and shoved her wet hair out of her face. “Shit, that was messed up.  So much for an escape plan.”

“It does seem we’re trapped on the planet now.  Not that it matters.  As you said, this is likely a suicide mission.”

“Then why the hell did you bother saving me?”

She shrugged and offered her hand to the woman.  “Misery loves company.”

Jack slapped it away and dragged herself to her feet.  “Course, I wouldn’t have needed saving if you knew how to fly a damn ship.”

Miranda narrowed her eyes.  “Are you so immature that you can’t simply thank me?”

Jack rolled her eyes and shoved past her but Miranda wanted more.  “We can’t continue on like this.  If we’re at each other’s throats-”

“I already told you. There’s no fresh start for us, cheerleader.”

“Why are you really here, Jack?”

“I’m here to end Cerberus for good.  That’s the whole fucking story.”

“Bullshit,” Miranda objected.  “There has to be more to it than that.”

Jack spun around on her heels.  “Why the fuck do I need another reason?  You have any idea what your little organization has cost me?  What Cerberus did to me?  What they took from me?!”

Her own eyes hardened.  “I remember Pragia.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t forget it.”  Miranda fell silent when she heard the rage in Jack’s voice as she continued.  “How the hell do you live with it, cheerleader?  Being a part of something like that. I might have done my share of fucked up shit but I never tortured a little girl, raped her, made her into… this.”

“Neither of us had a choice, Jack.”

Jack stared her down before she shook her head and turned away, seemingly uninterested in continuing their fight.  “Fuck it.  We’re not gonna find Ford out here in the middle of nowhere. Let’s move.”

_At least I tried_.

****

Miranda’s wet catsuit clung uncomfortably to her skin as the pair of women trekked through the woods.  Her cracked rib still ached, her legs were sore, and beside her, Jack had fallen into a sullen silence.  All of it should have left Miranda in a foul mood, and yet, there was something about the pristine terrain they were passing through that raised her spirits.  Birds sang, huge trees grew wild and lush, and sunlight trickled through the leafy canopy above them.  It was a contrast common to colony worlds; the settlements would be constructed using the most modern technology, but only a few miles away waited wilderness no human being had ever set foot in.

_I wish you could see this, Oriana._

Her mood soured somewhat when she realized she’d probably never have the chance to visit places like this with her sister. In all likelihood, she’d probably never see her again at all. Miranda looked to her partner as Jack hiked beside her in silence.  She might have not been the ideal companion but at least Miranda had someone to share the sights with.

“It’s rather refreshing, isn’t it?”

“What?”  Jack still sounded unfriendly, but her anger wasn’t burning quite so hot anymore.

“Being out here, away from it all.  No war.  No destruction.”  No crowds jeering at me.  “After everything we’ve been through, it’s nice to remember that some things endured.”

“Yeah, it’s real peaceful and all that good shit.  Now, let’s find a place with medi-gel and something to eat before I take a bite out of you instead.”

“Always the poet, Jack.”

“Screw you.”

Miranda simply laughed at that, but a spike of pain came from her side when she did, making her clutch at the rib.  Jack was right; medi-gel and food would go a long way right then. She didn’t feel like admitting it however, so instead she just resumed walking.  Halfway up the hill they were climbing, though, she pulled up short in front of a concealing stand of trees.

“Hold up,” she whispered.  “I think I hear footsteps.”

For once, Jack did as she was told.  The two women halted and Miranda strained her ears to get a better listen.  It was indeed several sets of booted feet she’d heard, and as they approached, they were joined by the sound of human voices.

“...Can’t wait to see what was on that wreck.”  A younger man, brash and heedless.

“Why?  You think it was filled with supermodels and caviar?  Don’t be such a fucking idiot.”  An older man, his voice heavy with the cynicism of age and long hardship.

“Just as long as it’s not another batch of those fucking alien refugees.  I’m sick of dealing with that trash.”  A woman now, her tone harsh and bitter.

“Hey, they are good for a few things.”  The younger man again.  “That turian looked pretty damn funny, scampering around on his hands and knees.  And that asari with the purple skin…”

“Maybe it’s the Alliance,” the female voice suggested with a chuckle.

“Don’t get me too excited,” the younger man replied, “I’d kill for a chance to carve up a few of those traitorous bastards.”

“Doesn’t really matter,” the older man pointed out.  “They probably died in the crash anyway, and even if not, we’ll just put them down and see what kinda shit they brought us in that ship of theirs.  Don’t need anymore mouths to feed.”

“Can’t we at least have some fun with them first?”, the younger man whined.

Miranda ground her teeth at their disgusting words, but when she looked over at Jack to see her reaction, she wasn’t there.  Looking around, Miranda saw only the back of her nominal partner as she stormed off in the direction of the voices.

_God damn it.  Here we go._


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Miranda found Jack again, her ostensible commanding officer had already caught up with the patrol.  Jack stood with her hand on her hips in front of the three soldiers, whose uniforms confirmed their Cerberus allegiance.  All of them were armed, but they’d relaxed their posture somewhat, not seeming concerned about one small, wet woman.  Miranda decided not reveal herself just yet, instead hanging back in the tree line and watching to see how this scene played out.

The Cerberus woman, a tall brunette with a face lined from must have been years of hard living, gave a derisive snort in Jack’s direction.  “Well, would you look at that?  There’s a survivor, after all.  And a human too, even if she does look like more of a drowned rat.”

Jack said nothing in response, but Miranda recognized the tell-tale signs of her rage building: the quivering in her body, the narrowing of her eyes, the clenching of the fists. The patrol didn’t seem to notice though, more intent on making fun of the convict.  The younger man chuckled.  “Doesn’t look like she’d be good for much of a fight.  Maybe a chase then.  Hey, rat, why don’t you run?  At least give us a little sport.”

The older man, a bald, beefy specimen with one eye, was a little more cautious.  “Not so fast,” he told his comrade before turning back to Jack.  “What happened to the rest of your crew?  What were you doing here?”

 At last, Jack spoke.  “Fucking your mother.  What of it?”

The younger man flicked his blonde hair out of his face and smirked.  “You’ve got some attitude, huh?  I like that.  It’ll make it more fun when we finally break you.”

“This one won’t last long in the kennels, boys,” the woman said. “Maybe we should keep her for ourselves.”

Miranda was getting ready to interject herself, but Jack beat her to the punch.  Light shone all around her body, a sudden corona of biotic energy that told the Cerberus patrol they had made a terrible mistake.  They tried to level the guns they’d let hang at their sides, but it was too late. A massive wave of force erupted out from Jack’s body and the three soldiers were thrown off of their feet, crashing into the dense foliage surrounding them.

The woman was the first to try and rise, but she only made it as far as her knees when Jack’s biotics seized her.  She was yanked off the ground with a strong tug. The woman squirmed in air, throwing her limbs about in a desperate attempt to free herself from the biotic field.

“Wait!”, she cried out but Jack didn’t listen. The woman’s neck snapped with a sudden motion, her head twisted so far around that Miranda was surprised it didn’t come clean off.  The other two soldiers only fared slightly better.  They managed to squeeze off a few shots, but Jack’s  barriers were at full strength, and in her rage, she didn’t even flinch at the impacts. Jack tossed the woman’s corpse at the younger man, knocking him off his feet before Jack set her sights on the oldest of the bunch.

The one-eyed man raised his gun with quivering hands but before he could even fire off another round, Jack raised her arms. A biotic bubble enveloped the man, and with a gesture, the convict sent him flying up through the tree cover before letting him drop back to the ground. He screamed as his legs shattered on impact, but his pain was short-lived. A biotic blast punched a hole through his chest, leaving his bloody remains laying on the forest floor.

The younger man finally crawled out from underneath the corpse of the Cerberus woman and fled for the cover of the trees.  He didn’t make it.  Instead, a pull field yanked him off of his feet and left him dangling in the air with his gun laying just out of reach.

“So,” Jack snarled as she stalked over towards her captive, “You were gonna break me?  You look like the kind of asshole who’d enjoy that.  Rape or torture?  Or maybe both.  Is there even a difference to you?”

“No, please,” he begged, all the bravado drained out of him, “It was a joke.  We were here to help.”

“Hah, hah.”  Jack gave him a vicious backhand that shattered his nose, his blood dripping down his face.  “Your sense of humor sucks balls.”

Miranda had seen enough.  She stepped out of the shadows, and at the sound of her approach, Jack turned around.  “There you are, cheerleader.  Didn’t feel like helping out, I see.”

“I knew you could handle the fight and I wanted to see what you’d do.  Effective maybe, but a little extreme, don’t you think?”

“Screw you.”  She slapped the trapped man again.  “You think this piece of trash deserves some kind of mercy?  All the good people who died in this war, and he gets to walk around here doing whatever sick shit he wants?  Fuck that!”

“I’m not defending him,” Miranda replied, trying to keep calm.   _One of us has to be mature, after all.  This is a mission, not just a rampage of revenge._   “I’m just saying that we need information and supplies, not to torture pathetic sadists.”  She snatched a pistol from the dead woman.  Unlike Jack, her biotics were a compliment in a fight, not her primary means of killing.

Jack rolled her eyes but seemed to hear the wisdom in her partner’s words, not responding but simply planting her foot solidly on the soldier’s chest to keep him immobilized.  Miranda took that as her cue and walked over to the bleeding man. “Start talking.”

“Talking?  About what?  Who the hell are you two?”

She gave him her best disapproving glare.  “I ask the questions.”

“W-What do you wanna know?”  The man’s voice quivered with fear.  For all his earlier bravado, he seemed green and Miranda wondered what he’d been doing this time last year. Probably just an ordinary kid until the world fell apart.  These times do turn some men cruel.

“Ford. Where can we find him?”

“How should I know?!”  The man’s voice turned into a high pitched squeal when Jack’s biotics took hold of his pinky and snapped it like a twig.

“Answer the question,” Jack hissed through clenched teeth.  Her hate was palpable, her earlier bout of violence having clearly not sated her bloodlust.

“I’ve only ever seen Father Ford on the vids!  I swear!”

“Father Ford?” Miranda wondered aloud.  That man had never gone by that name before.   “What were you doing out here?”

“We were on a hunting trip when we got orders to investigate the crash!  Guess that was you two.  What are you?  Alliance?”  

The man screamed again as Jack snapped another finger.  “Shut the fuck up unless somebody asks you another question.”

“How would we find Ford?”,  Miranda demanded again.

For a moment, the man found some small reserve of courage.  “Fuck you. I won’t betray the savior.”

His defiance quickly turned into squeals of agony as a stronger burst of energy snapped his wrist and bent his hand back unnaturally as it split the flesh, and Miranda asked, “Savior?”

After a few moments of painful sobbing the man spoke once more. “Father Ford delivered our salvation when you pathetic Alliance cowards left us to die!  He saved us from those filthy aliens, and made sure they saw justice for what they did to us!”

Their captive’s breath was coming in short, shallow gasps as his eyes fluttered open and closed. The pain was becoming too much for him and so Miranda pushed Jack away to give him a moment to recover.

She realized that with Jack she was clearly going to be playing the good cop, a role she’d seldom filled in the past.  The ruthless ice queen suited her best, but Miranda also knew how to adapt when necessary.  She knelt down beside their prisoner, softening her voice.  “Come now, it’s a simple question.  Just answer it and your pain will stop.  Is Ford in the city?” The man only nodded.  “Good. Now, what’s the fastest way of getting there?”

He pointed a quivering finger behind Miranda, “Head north….k-keep on the path and you can’t miss it. Not that it’ll matter....”

“How’s that?”

“You’ll never lay a finger on Ford.  Every man and woman on Typhon knows who humanity’s true savior is.  And it’s not that traitorous bastard Commander Shepard!  Cerberus will rise-”

Before the man could finish, Miranda stood and unloaded two quick shots into the scout’s head. It head erupted in a fountain of blood and Jack stumbled back two steps, looking over at Miranda with a mixture of surprise and newfound respect on her face.

“Damn, that was cold cheerleader!  I thought you wanted information.  That asshole didn’t tell us shit.”

“He told us enough. We weren’t going to find out everything about Ford’s plans some disposable lackey.”  Miranda holstered her gun with a cold detachment on her face.“  It seems Ford has manipulated this world’s population into thinking Cerberus is their savior. It’s a clever play, given the sudden end to the Reaper attacks, and now these people won’t be impressed by the fact that we’re with the Alliance.”

“So?”

“So we’ll need to play this smart. We can’t move on Ford until we really know what we’re up against.”  Miranda picked up another gun from the corpse of the younger man and handed it to her partner. “Ready to be a spy, Jack?”

“A spy? Screw that. I’m giving the orders here, Cerberus. And we’re not playing this like a bunch of pussies.”

“By all means, Jack, charge into the city with your gun drawn and see how far it gets you.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Even you can’t be that stupid. We need to gather intel so we can develop a plan that doesn’t get us both killed immediately.  Suicide mission or not I’ve never botched an operation before and I don’t intend to start now.”

“So long as Cerberus burns I don’t give a shit about an escape plan,” Jack declared as she shoved her new pistol in the waistband of her pants before marching off towards the path they’d been told about.

 _At least we’re on the same page about one thing_.  

  
***

The path to the city was longer than Miranda had anticipated. They had been hiking for a couple of hours, trekking over a seemingly endless and ever-steepening series of foothills. Even though she’d tied her hair back in a bun, it had still gotten sweaty, her new pistol kept rubbing against her hip, and her white catsuit was filled with sand and dirt in the worst possible places. Miranda was a tough woman, but she had never been a very outdoorsy one. As she swatted a bug away from her face, the sound of thunder cracked in the distance and she spared a glance at the woman hiking beside her.

Jack seemed entirely unfazed by the trek.  Miranda had to admit, there was something admirable about the convict’s strength. The girl had nearly drowned a few hours prior and single-handedly killed a Cerberus patrol, yet she still clambered up the dirt hill with an almost youthful energy. The apex was still a little ways away and so Miranda decided she was bored enough to try and stimulate yet another conversation with Jack.  It wasn’t that she liked talking to her, but there was something off about her partner and she intended on finding out what it was.

“I meant what I said back there.”

Jack grunted before she replied. “What?

“That I never had a choice. Joining Cerberus was the only option I had. It was the only way I could ensure my sister’s safety.”

“You expect me to believe you did all that shit for Cerberus because of that girl?  You said you never even met her before Shepard forced you to grow a pair. Tell yourself whatever the fuck you want, Cheerleader, but you stuck around because you wanted to. So what if your sister would have been raised by your rich-ass father?”

Miranda came to a sudden stop, Jack having touched one one of the few sensitive spots she had left.  “You have no idea what my father was like!”

Jack spun around. “Oh yeah? So what did he do? Did he hit you, princess? Did he strap you to a chair and stick needles in your perfect skin?!”

“There are other kinds of abuse, Jack.”

“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?”

“Of course not.  Clearly you’re too busy feeling sorry for yourself.”

Her reply had dripped with contempt and Miranda braced herself for the other woman’s inevitable comeback but instead, Jack only rolled her eyes and resumed their climb.

They scaled the remainder of the hill in silence until at last they reached it’s summit.  Below them, a massive urban sprawl stretched out for nearly as far as the eye could see in every direction, and at its center, a towering spire rose high above the rest of the buildings.  The size of the capital was a surprise, but even from a distance the devastation to it was also clear.

A pair of dead Reapers lay sprawled across the city streets, their massive corpses leaning up against the wreckage of the buildings they had knocked over in their fall.  A few other broken ships were also strewn about, including one larger frigate that seemed more intact than most.  Smoke still billowed into the air and Miranda saw very few sky cars soaring through it’s streets. Despite the damage though, the center of the city appeared to be in good enough condition and the power appeared to be at least partially up and running, lights still illuminating some of the windows in the valley below.

“Thought it would look worse than this,” Jack remarked.

“I did as well. This is odd.”

“Odd?”

“If the city’s this well off then, why had the Alliance not heard anything from Typhon until now? There must be thousands of survivors down there.”

Jack shrugged.  “Guess we’ll find out.”  She took her first step down the hill but before she could travel further, a loud clap of thunder sounded and seconds later, a heavy rain began to pour from the sky.

_The perfect end to a perfect day._

The city was still a couple of miles out and the path down the hill and into the valley was too steep to safely travel in a thunderstorm.  Miranda scanned their surroundings, pleased when she found a small cave nestled into the hillside just a few meters to the right.

“This way!”, Miranda ordered over the pouring rain.

She didn’t wait for Jack’s response before she made a run for the cave. Evidently, the convict had had enough of being soaked for one day too, because she scrambled into the shelter without any protest.

“I guess we’ll have to wait this out,” Miranda said as she loosened her bun and rang out her hair with both hands.

Jack didn’t answer; instead she just sat down in the dirt by the cave’s mouth. Seeing no other way to pass the time, Miranda took a seat herself on the opposite side and watched the rain pour down.  

***

For almost an hour they sat in silence until Miranda spoke again.

“You were right.”

“Huh?” Jack didn’t face her when she spoke, but the surprise in her voice was eminently clear.

“I did enjoy working for Cerberus.”

“No shit.”

Miranda stared off at the city in the distance for a moment before she continued. “I used to be so bloody desperate to know where I fit in the galaxy. For years, I thought it was with Cerberus.  I’d never been a part of something like that before. Something I believed in, where my talents were put to use, respected, and even challenged. I had a purpose then. We were doing great work, innovating in fields the other races were too scared to explore, creating things nobody else would have thought possible. The Illusive Man was a man of vision, a genius… and most of all he believed in me.”  She looked down to the puddle forming outside the mouth of the cave.  “I wanted to believe in Cerberus so badly… and.to believe in him as well. I wasn’t able to see what was really going on. Perhaps I just didn’t want to.”

Jack narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah? And what did it take to get it through your perfect little head? Shepard and his magic dick?”

Miranda’s voice came out in a whisper.  “No.”

“Then what?”

“You.”

An awkward pause hung in the air before Jack turned away from her once more.  “Bullshit.”

“When I saw what they did to you on Pragia.  What they did to those other children… It wasn’t Shepard that made me quit, Jack. He might have helped me to take the final steps, but it was you. I thought you should know that.”

Miranda spared a glance over at Jack and found that the woman staring at her without the usual hate in her eyes.  As soon as the convict realized Miranda was returning her gaze though, she turned away.  Miranda fully expected it to be the end of their brief exchange until Jack spoke.

“I guess I should say thanks and all that shit,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Excuse me?”

“You saved my ass back at the lake. So fuck it, I owe you one, cheerleader.”

Miranda crossed her arms and tried not to sound as surprised as she was by the thank-you.  “I suppose if it wasn’t for you I never would have been given this chance.  So you can consider us even.”

_Gratitude.  How about that?  Perhaps there’s hope for her after all._


	5. Chapter 5

It had taken several hours before the rain finally stopped, but though Miranda’s body had appreciated the rest, her fatigue had now been replaced with hunger.  All of their provisions had gone down with the ship, and as they reached the outskirts of the capital, she wasn’t excited about the prospects of finding anything appetizing soon.  The center of the city might have survived well enough, but here, the devastation was extensive. The buildings that lined the streets were shattered shells, and rubble lay strewn about everywhere. So, too, were bodies. Here and there were unburied corpses from the fighting, Reaper troops and the inhabitants of Typhon alike laying where they fell.

Miranda paused, looking down at the remains of an asari ripped apart by husk claws.  She reminded her a little bit of Liara, but she had darker skin and was even younger than the Shadow Broker. Scavenging birds had been at her belly and the stench of rot and blood was enough to nauseate even the hardened operative.

“This is a fucking shitshow,” Jack coughed out before stifling a gag.

Miranda took two steps back before replying, cupping a hand over her nose to mask the stench.  “Indeed.  The bulk of the dead seem to be non-human."

“Yeah, I’m sure your old Cerberus buddies weren’t too worried about saving a bunch of aliens.”

She was too hungry and disgusted to bother arguing with Jack about whether she and Cerberus were friends.  “No, I suspect they were not.”

While the dead were out in the open, the living were harder to find.  As they walked on, Miranda caught glimpses of motion at the edges of her vision, but whatever survivors lived in this neighborhood seemed too afraid to come out and meet them.  

_Not that I can blame them, after what they must have been through._

The quiet made the whole tableaux even more unsettling, but it did not last long.  A few minutes into their journey, Miranda suddenly heard a booming voice. It seemed to come from several directions at once, but one of the sources was clearly nearer, and so that was where she headed.

Around a corner and a block or so away, someone had erected a vid-screen on the side of one of the more intact buildings.  Projected up on it was the massive image of a man at once familiar and strange.  When Miranda had seen Anthony Ford a few years earlier, he looked every inch the clean-shaven military man, even when laying on her operating table. Now, he sported a well-trimmed snowy beard on his hard, angular face and in place of his hospital gown, he wore white and brown robes that simultaneously tried hard to appear humble while still projecting an aura of majesty.  Behind him was, unsurprisingly, the logo of Cerberus, but it too had been changed. This one was made of gold, and gleaming out from a black banner, it seemed more holy emblem than organizational signifier.

“Long have been our tribulations,” Ford was saying, “But I tell you that they have not been in vain.  We have come out of the wilderness of the Reaper War, and now, we have begun our climb towards the new Eden.  The future we move towards is one that must be untainted by the sins of alien deviants, and unstained by the weakness and greed of those who once enabled them. It is a future that belongs to every human being, and it is one that Cerberus will lead you into, just as we have preserved you through the long, dark night that has just ended.”

“What the fuck!?”, Jack snapped, disgust and rage mixed in her voice.  “Shepard preserved your dumb asses, not this jerk-off.”

“But this path will not be an easy one,” Ford continued, unable to hear Jack’s complaints.  “Every one of the brethren will have to play their part.  Traitors and cowards will only divide us, weakening our resolve and opening our hearts up to the sins that the Reapers came to punish.  Sadly, for some, this path has been too hard.  In Redemption Square at midday, all shall see an example of what happens to those who give in to sin. Who give succor to the aliens who nearly destroyed us.  This is no time for weakness.  This is the time of struggle, and only the righteous shall survive.  Blessings be upon you all.”

The screen blinked off and Miranda turned to see Jack, nearly incoherent as she stood there fuming.  Wisps of biotic energy were floating off of her body and, with a snarl, she let one of them loose on the vid-screen, cracking it in half and sending chunks of glass raining down into the street.

“Fucking, no-good, piece-of-shit, Cerberus asshole,” she ranted.  “He can’t really believe that bullshit, can he?”

“I don’ t know.  The man I met was nothing like this. But these have been strange times.”  Here I am, working for you, after all.  “Religion can be a powerful tool to manipulate others, especially when they are frightened and desperate.  Ford offers the survivors a narrative; someone to blame for their pain, and a leader who will save them from it.”

Jack sighed.  “Yeah, I know the drill.  I was in a cult once, remember?  Same bullshit, smaller scale.  I just hate seeing people buying into it from Cerberus.”

“We still don’t know how many of them really believe or what they know about Cerberus’ true nature.  Perhaps we should find out where this Redemption Square is and get a better look at what we’re dealing with.”

“Why not?”, Jack shrugged.  “At least we can probably knock some heads while we’re there. But how do we find the place?”

Miranda looked up past the building with the cracked vidscreen and saw a pillar of smoke rising into the air.  “We’ll follow the smoke.”

“Could just be some asshole burning shit down. This whole area is trashed.”

“True, but at least it means there are people there, which is a start.”  Miranda didn’t wait for her ostensible commanding officer’s permission before she headed down a narrow street towards the source of the smoke. Jack ran up to her side a moment later, saying nothing as she followed.

Their path led them through more ruins, and more corpses, and they maintained a fast pace, both eager to get out of the bloody streets.  The electronic street signs that had existed before the war were little more than scrap now, but in their place, someone had set up crude metal ones, with places names reflecting Ford’s new order written in fading red paint.  They hadn’t yet reached the source of the smoke when they found one of them reading, “Redemption Square,” with an arrow directing them down a narrow street.

They were pleasantly surprised to find less dead infesting this pathway but the corpses remained present and Miranda still saw the occasional pair of eyes watching them from behind broken windows or a humanoid shape fleeing down an alleyway. Soon they came across another sign for Redemption Square, only this time the paint was noticeably less faded.

It continued like this for some time until Miranda and Jack found themselves on an avenue at last devoid of bodies or other signs carnage.  Nor was there a soul in sight, and the silence was overwhelming.

“This place is fucking creepy,” Jack hissed.

“I’m willing to agree with you on that.”  As much as anything else, it was the implications of this place that disturbed Miranda.  Was this the logical end of Cerberus’ vision?  She had always thought of the group as being more pro-human than anti-alien, but perhaps she’d just been naive.

_Had it not been for the Normandy would this have been where I ended up? A rotting corpse on a forgotten world or perhaps one of those leaving it to rot._

They continued down the abandoned road for quite some time until at last they came upon what would prove to be their final sign. Hung above a dark and ominous-looking tunnel carved through the wreckage of a collapsed overhead bridge, a carefully painted sign told them they had arrived.

Miranda stared down the dark tunnel before turning to Jack.  “After you,” she offered with an extension of her arm.

Jack rolled her eyes and muttered, “Pussy,” under her breath before marching forward.

Miranda shook her head and followed after Jack. As they walked towards the literal light at the end of the tunnel, a dull sound began to hit their ears. At first Miranda wasn’t sure what it was but as they drew nearer to the exit, the sounds of a crowd cheering was unmistakable.

When they at last left the tunnel Miranda stood frozen in a rare moment of shock. There was an almost surreal, dreamlike quality to the change in their surroundings. The tall buildings that now surrounded them and the remarkably clean streets they flanked were pristine, any damage done by the war cleaned up.  The stench of blood and death had been replaced with the smell of grilling meats. Some of the buildings were freshly painted black and gold, in Cerberus’ honor she suspected. Banners carrying Ford’s holy emblem hung from street lamps. Yet the most surprising sight were the people.

A stream of smiling humans were funneling around a corner down the block. All of them were dressed in a uniform Miranda knew all too well. It was the same Cerberus outfit her underlings used to wear when she herself was a part of the organization: a two piece uniform consisting of grey pants and a black and white shirt with the Cerberus mark on the breast.

“Jesus Fucking Christ.” Jack muttered under her breath. “You must be coming in your Cerberus panties, cheerleader.”

Miranda ignored the jibe and followed the group to see where they were flocking towards.  Her heart skipped when they turned a corner and were greeted with the sight of a large park packed to the gills with men, women and children, all dressed in either the Cerberus uniform, or some hastily tailored approximation of it.  The aroma of delicious food was thick in the air, children were laughing and people were smiling, while only blocks away was a post-apocalyptic wasteland. It was downright unsettling.

At the center of the park, a massive crowd was gathered around a large wooden stage of recent construction. Mounted there were two vid screens like the one they had seen earlier but instead of Ford’s face they projected the Cerberus logo.

“What is this shit?”, Jack wondered aloud.

“I...have no idea.” Miranda admitted.

“Let’s go check it out then.”  Jack started to march forward before Miranda snatched her by the back of her collar.

“We can’t go in there dressed like this. Everyone else here is in something like a uniform. They’ll know we’re outsiders the instant they see us.”

“What do you suggest?”

Miranda searched the park, finding a storefront with a big glass window. Just inside were two women conversing as they prepared what appeared to be food for the feast. “Follow me and keep your mouth shut for once.”

They snuck around the outskirts of the park, using the foliage for cover as they drew closer to the store. As luck would have it, Jack was actually capable of being discreet for three minutes and soon enough, they reached the building’s entrance.

Miranda waved a hand in front of the door’s console and it swooshed open.  She and Jack darted in, crouching down below the glass counter the two Typhon women were chatting behind, their backs turned to the newcomers.

“Excited for the show?”, one of the women asked.

“Of course. Father Ford’s been talking about it all week.”

Miranda glanced back to Jack and the convict simply nodded to let her know she understood the plan. The two biotics sprung to their feet and before the Typhon women could even cry out, Miranda and Jack’s fists silenced them, the food they were preparing hitting the floor at the same time as their bodies.  Miranda looked back over the counter and through the glass storefront and thankfully saw no sign that they had been spotted.

“Quickly,” Miranda hissed as she stripped one of the women of her uniform shirt after dragging her limp body into the back room.

Jack followed suit and before she even undressed the Typhon woman, she stripped herself down to her panties. Miranda stood frozen for a moment when the convict pulled her wet tank top over her head, leaving her pert breasts on full display. It wasn’t that Jack wore much clothing to begin with, but Miranda had always made an effort to not look too closely.  

A web of colorful and beautifully crafted tattoos was scrawled across her lean, muscular torso, only a few burns and scars marring the otherwise impressive mural.  Even her breasts were not untouched. A small symmetrical circle of unconnected but parallel black lines were tattooed around each of her prominent nipples in a starburst pattern, while her torso's pattern of black markings also covered part of her tits.

Miranda quickly averted her eyes and turned her back to her partner as she finished removing the Cerberus uniform from the unconscious woman. She didn’t waste time, unzipping her damp catsuit and removing the garment before setting it aside. Now, she stood before the convict wearing nothing but her plain black underwear.  Miranda didn't turn to see it but she swore she could feel Jack's eyes crawling over her perfect body as she pulled on the shirt. Someone else might have been uncomfortable, but she didn’t bother with such feelings.  Miranda knew she was attractive; it was how she had been designed after all, and the attention of others was only natural. Yet her confidence suddenly left her when she slid the form-fitting uniform pants up her long legs and found that their climb was suddenly halted.  She tried to fight it but a blush colored her cheeks.

_Oh, please no._

Miranda looked down in dread and found her fears confirmed. Her shapely ass would not fit into the tight pants. She gave them another tug and the uniform climbed up slightly further but she knew it was no use. The fabric simply refused to pull over her rounded ass cheeks.  A moment later, she let out a defeated sigh when she heard Jack cackling hysterically behind her.  

Miranda looked over her shoulder and found Jack pointing. “You have got to be shitting me! You can’t even fit it into regular pants?!”

“Keep your bloody voice down. This isn’t amusing,”  Miranda snapped as she tugged on the waist of the pants once more.

“Are you kidding me?  It’s fucking hilarious,” Jack wheezed out before launching into another fit of laughter.

“Shut up! Can you just…”

“Can I what?,” Jack teased, the smirk on her face as broad as the operative had ever seen.

She couldn't believe she had to say it. “...Can you help me?” Miranda said with a huff.

“Help you fit your huge ass into those pants?” Jack clearly was going to milk this.

_Dammit, you are such a child._

Miranda nodded, fully aware that her face must be turning six shades of red.  “Yes.  Will you do it or not?”

Jack rolled her eyes and grabbed hold of the waist of the pants. Together they tugged and thankfully, when Jack hoisted her partially off of the ground, gravity finally finished the job.  Miranda buttoned up while trying to hide the color in her cheeks. The pants fit her uncomfortably, displaying her rump even more prominently than her catsuit had.

“Never speak of that again,” Miranda ordered, knowing even as she said the words that it was too much to hope for.  There was no way Jack wasn’t going to milk this for all it was worth.

“In your dreams.”

She sighed, deciding to just change the subject for now.  “Let’s get out there and see what this is all about.”

Miranda shoved past the other woman, and with the help of their new disguises they quickly merged with the crowd gathered in the center of the park. The smell of food was tormenting Miranda’s hungry stomach but she ignored it as she weaved through the crowd on her path to the stage. Even from afar she could clearly see the large vidscreens on the stage and a curious wooden pole that rose up from its center.  She stopped a few rows behind the front, and Jack came up beside her, tugging at the collar of her new uniform.

“Wearing this shit feels wrong.”

“Sell it, Jack or we’re both screwed,” Miranda hissed.

Jack looked around at the crowd.  “What the fuck is this anyway?”

Suddenly the mob erupted into raucous cheers when a tall, muscular man with bushy mutton chops and dark brown hair stepped onto the stage and came to a stop by the strange wooden spire in its center. He was followed by a squad of Cerberus troops dressed in full armor with rifles in their arms. Like everyone else, the squad's leader wore the Cerberus colors but Miranda recognized his uniform, festooned with medals, as that of a captain. The man himself was barrel-chested and long limbed, with tanned skin and a scar stretched all the way across his throat.

“Brother Givoni!”, a woman cried from beside Miranda.

Givoni raised one fist into the air and the crowd mimicked the action as they fell eerily silent. The vid screens on either side of the stage jolted to life and projected the image of “Father” Anthony Ford once more. The bearded man sat in an austere wooden chair as he addressed his people.

“Brothers and sisters of Cerberus, I know the path to humanity’s destiny is a daunting one. Every last one of us has suffered. Suffered from the Reapers, from the Alliance cowards who abandoned us, and from the alien devils who brought death to us all, who came to steal from us, to take what rightfully belongs to humanity!”

The crowd murmured in anger, apparently agreeing with their leader’s sentiments.  Beneath their superficial enthusiasm, Miranda could feel the ugly, hateful currents swirling. These were people filled with rage, looking for targets to vent it on.

“They are the enemy. They mean to destroy everything that we stand for. It is only by standing together that we shall defeat them and claim our destiny. Yet there are traitors in our mix. Sinners who would sooner see aliens reign over us then join in our cause. Who would sooner feed an asari harlot than his human neighbor. Today we gather to bear witness to the crimes of those who seek to betray us, and to their punishment for those crimes.”

Givoni stepped off the stage and when he returned, he was dragging two men in his massive arms. The prisoner’s hands and feet were bound and their mouths were gagged. Miranda turned to Jack, and was suddenly relieved that everyone else was watching the stage.  The convict had balled her hands into tight fists and her eyes were narrowed in a look of pure hatred than no one observing her could have failed to spot.  Not wanting to draw any more attention to Jack, Miranda looked back to the stage in time to see Givoni tie the prisoners to the wooden pole.

“Gregory and Fredrik Toole sought to steal food from our mouths, medicine from our doctors, and clothes from our backs. They sought to distribute it to the aliens beasts who plague the outer city. These sinners would rather provide the killers, rapists, and cowards who brought the Reapers to our home with food and safety than their own kind. For this… There can be no forgiveness.”

One of the men strapped to the pole managed to spit the rag out of his mouth. “Fuck you all! You Cerberus bastards!”, he screamed. “You’re following a madman! This is murder!”

“Brother Givoni. If you would do the honors.” Ford said, paying the man no more mind than he would a buzzing insect.

The crowd took a step back as they hurled swears and hatred towards the two brothers while Givoni got off the stage, followed by the Cerberus troopers.  The large man raised up his arm and a jet of flame shot out from the gauntlet he wore.  The crowd’s curses turned to cheers as he turned the fire at the stage, which Miranda now realized was covered in a thin layer of hay.  It took only seconds before first the straw and then the wood was on fire, the flames rising up underneath the two brothers.

“Oh, Jesus!”, the ungagged brother screamed, kicking his legs in a desperate attempt to delay his fate. “Someone help us!”

Miranda looked back to Jack who was staring at her with pleading, angry eyes but all she could offer was a shake of her head. “We can’t.”

Jack gritted her teeth and looked away but Miranda needed to see what happened next.  The men’s feet caught fire first, and whatever final words they might have had were lost, turned into nothing but a long, high wail of pure agony.  The flames consumed ever more of their bodies, but even while they burned, Ford resumed his speech.

“Cerberus will rise, brothers and sisters.  We shall reclaim our homeworld. The Alliance will bow to our will and our might. The galaxy belongs to humanity, and no traitors shall stop us from achieving our glorious destiny!”

Even after the men stopped thrashing, the crowd never stopped cheering. Only when the screens had turned to black and the fires had begun to die down did some blessed measure of silence return, and Miranda let herself avert her gaze.  Without a word, she turned and followed Jack out of the crowd.  There was simply nothing more to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I do not normally delineate who wrote which parts of the story, I would like to say that, for better or worse, the idea for Miranda and the pants was all my co-author.


	6. Chapter 6

By the time Miranda caught up with Jack again, the convict was chomping away on a skewer of grilled meat, while in her other hand was an unopened bottle of beer.  The burnt smell was enough to make Miranda’s empty stomach turn, and she asked Jack, “What’re you doing?”

“Pretty sweet, huh?  Managed to grab these up from some gawking assholes when they weren’t paying attention.”

Miranda swallowed, trying to settle down her guts.  “How can you eat that stuff after what we just watched?” she hissed, keeping her voice low enough that the people around them wouldn’t hear.

Jack kept chewing, only pausing long enough to give her a derisive snort. “God, you really are a pampered little bitch, aren’t you?”

She rolled her eyes.  “I fail to see how money has anything to do with my disgust.”

“That’s ‘cause you’ve never been hungry, cheerleader.  Not really.  You didn’t feel like eating right now, you figured they’d be more food in daddy’s fridge later.  Well, guess what? Now you’re down in the gutter with the rest of us.  That means you better eat when you can, ‘cause who the fuck knows when you’ll get another chance.”

Miranda sighed.  As much as she hated to admit it, Jack was right.  She’d always thought of herself as knowing the uglier side of life, and in some ways she did.  Violence and war were long-time companions of hers.  But not material deprivation.  Whether she’d been with her father or Cerberus, she might not have been happy but she always had enough to get by, and often far more than that.  Now, she was in very different circumstances and she had to adapt.

Especially given what they were up against.  Even if some of the cheering throngs were just going along with Ford out of fear or a desire to conform, many of them had clearly bought into his new regime.  Overthrowing him was not going to be easy, if it was even possible, and she had to keep up her strength regardless of her feelings.

Fortunately, her time as an operative had taught her how to pick something up without being noticed, even if it wasn’t usually food.  A little hunting led her to a couple who hadn’t gotten around to eating their picnic lunch, and while the woman distracted her date by nibbling on his ear, Miranda swiped one of their sandwiches.  It just contained cheese and some vegetables, and the absence of meat made it seem somewhat more palatable to her still-unsettled stomach.

She rejoined Jack at the edges of the diminishing crowd.  The convict was sucking down her beer, and when Miranda took a bite of the sandwich, she grinned.  “There you go, cheerleader. Feel better?”

“I suppose,” she admitted.  Until she started eating, Miranda hadn’t realized just how hungry she’d been.  The sandwich was hardly great, but just then, it tasted like the finest french cuisine.

When she’d finished eating, Jack turned back to her.  “So what the fuck are we gonna do now?  ‘Cause these bastards have to pay for this.”

“Agreed.”  Miranda brushed her hands clean.  Now that her stomach wasn’t growling anymore, it was easier to think.  There was still so much they didn’t know about this situation.  Where were the aliens who hadn’t already been killed?  Just what resources did Ford have?  What were his long-term plans?  He had control of the city, but it certainly sounded as if his sights were set far higher than one mid-sized colony world.  She needed more information before she could act.  

Looking out at the commons, she saw that they were mostly empty by then aside from a smattering of picnickers, giving Miranda a clear view of the stage.  The Cerberus soldiers were packing up their equipment and cleaning the mess their brutal execution had left behind.  She spotted the large man the crowd had called Givoni staring at the charred remains of the executed brothers with a smirk on his face.

“I think we should follow them,” she told Jack.  “They might lead us back to Ford, or at least some kind of headquarters.  Maybe we can get a sense of what they’re planning.”

"Who cares what they're planning? We ice Ford and none of that crap will matter anymore."

"Are you willing to take that chance, Jack? There's always more people like Ford. If you really want to put an end to Cerberus, we'll need to understand exactly what they’re up to. That way we'll know how to bury them for good.  And whatever your opinion of me might be, I assure you that's what we both want."

Jack threw up her hands. "Jesus, fine! We'll do it your way for now, cheerleader."

Miranda pointed to the remains of the stage and the large man in front of them.  "This Brother Givoni seems to have some authority, which means he might know where to find Ford."

"Then what are we sitting around here for?"

Jack stormed off towards the stage, leaving Miranda to scurry to catch up with the convict behind a tree near the stage.

"What should we do about the bodies?" one of the armored Cerberus troops asked their leader as he leapt off of the stage.

"Leave 'em." Givoni ordered. "They'll be a nice reminder to any other alien loving scumbags thinking of doing anything stupid."  With that, he marched off in the direction of an empty street.

"Let's go," Miranda ordered.

For a while Givoni simply walked alone down the unsettlingly clean streets. A few passerbies shook his hand and offered kind words to the man, much to Miranda’s disgust. It seemed his role as executioner had made him a folk hero to many of these people.  No one noticed them as they followed.  With their new Cerberus disguises Jack and Miranda hardly drew any attention but just when Miranda made the mistake of thinking that things might be easy, she was proven wrong.

The city street had led into a dead end. Stretched between the two skyscrapers was a tall barrier wall manned by a squad of well-armed Cerberus troops. Miranda and Jack ducked behind an empty skycar as Givoni came to a stop in front of the guards.

"You heading in, sir?" a short but solidly built soldier asked him.

"Indeed. I heard we got some new toys."

"Yeah. We caught 'em sniffing around the east wall last night."

"Any turians?"

"Two females and one male"

Even at this distance, she could see the sick smile that now stretched across Givoni's face. "Good.  I can break them in myself before we put them to work. Seems like the games are on tonight."

"Definitely. Who you got your credits on?"

"That asari bitch is still the best. She hits like a fucking truck," Givoni opined.

Suddenly Miranda heard a shrill voice cry out, "Please! Let me go!"

Her eyes turned to the street corner by the blockade as another armored trooper dragged a gaunt Salarian by his neck up to the guard post.

"What do we have here?" Givoni asked as the man threw the salarin to the ground before him.

"Caught him lurking around near the rally."

"Please! I was only looking for food," the salarian cried.

Givoni crossed his large arms. "This tiny bastard doesn't look like much fun at all. Wouldn’t last two seconds in the kennel, and we don’t need another useless mouth to feed."  He quickly un-holstered the short barreled shotgun at his side and before the alien could even make another protest, he blew his head off.

"Feed him to the varren," Givoni ordered before the barrier's glowing blue wall lowered just long enough for him to pass through it.

"I want these assholes dead." Jack hissed, hate seething in her eyes. "All of them."

"So do I but we're not charging in here."

"You saw what they just did."

"We need to get information. Not play hero."

A low growl escaped Jack’s throat. "You really are an ice cold bitch."

"Be that as it may, right now, I'm also our best chance at stopping this madness. So do you want to put an end to all of this, Jack? Or do you want to get yourself killed over one dead salarian?"

Jack only grunted in response, keeping her eyes trained on the corpse. "We need to see what the fuck these assholes are guarding in there."

“That, I agree with.”  Miranda took a moment to survey the area around her.  This part of the city wasn’t as desolate as the outer regions had been, but one of the buildings behind them still looked to be abandoned, and it should allow them to see over the barrier.  She gave a nod in its direction. “Let’s head up there.”

Jack didn’t say anything, but she didn’t protest either, and the two of them managed to slip out from behind the car and into the building without being noticed. Once inside, it was clear that this had been an office complex in better times, though many of the furnishings had been stripped since then. The power on the elevator didn’t work either, leaving them no choice but to take the stairs, and as they climbed, Miranda felt the day’s fatigue finally starting to hit her. She’d been pushing past it for the last few hours, but now, her legs burned with each step. Jack seemed to be feeling it too, not rushing up with her usual energy, and by the time the two women reached the top floor, both of them were breathing hard.

It had been worth it, though.  The empty office suite they were now in commanded a good view of the blockade, and despite the gathering darkness, there were enough street lights shining that Miranda could get a look past it. The sight was not what she might have expected. Laying in what used to be a public square was the crashed frame of a large starship, but it wasn’t a burnt-out wreck. Its shields must have taken the worst of the impact, because the bulk of the hull was intact, and inside, lights were on.

“So what the fuck are we looking at?” Jack asked.

“At the barrier, it sounded like they were taking captives that way. My best guess would be that they’re using the ship as a makeshift prison.”

“Yeah? Then maybe we should stage a little jailbreak.”

“And maybe we should try not delivering ourselves straight into our enemy’s hands.”

“Hey, screw you, cheerleader,” Jack spat. “I know you don’t think I’m taking this seriously but if we’re not going to try and kill all these assholes ourselves, we’re gonna need some help. What better place to find it than a prison full of people who hate Cerberus’ guts? Plus that Givoni bastard went in there so if we wanna find out what he knows, we’ll need to catch up with him.”

Miranda took a deep breath, letting go of her instinctive urge to argue with Jack.  “You may have a point,” she conceded. “Of course, it won’t be easy to get in there or get anyone else out.”

“I’m sure you can think of something. That’s your job right; planning this shit out?”

“Perhaps,” she said non-committally.  Her whole body ached, and just then, she wasn’t sure she could plan a grocery trip let alone an operation to break into a Cerberus prison. “Let’s come back at this in the morning.  After the day we’ve had, I think we could both use some rest before we head into action.”

Jack looked around the room and Miranda’s eyes followed hers.  There was a couch that had managed to survive more or less intact, along with a few remaining office chairs and a conference table.  “Yeah, sure.  Good a place as any I guess.”

The convict slumped back into one of the reclining office chairs, while Miranda took the couch, kicking off her boots before lying down. She’d known she was tired, but until she settled in, she hadn’t realized just how good it would feel to get off of her feet.

“Hell of a fucking day,” Jack said.  She tipped the chair backwards, sounding as tired as Miranda felt.  “I mean, I knew this place would be bad, but this is…. Every time I think Cerberus has run out of fucked up shit to do, there’s something new.”

Miranda nodded wearily.  “I suppose there is.”  She paused before continuing, but she decided that she might as well try and explain herself a little further while the subject was still fresh in their minds.  “You know, Jack, I don’t like what we’ve been seeing any more than you do.”

Jack snorted.  “You sure have an easier time walking away from it.”

She considered a cutting remark about self-control, but in the end she decided to avoid it.  She was too tired to argue any more.  “It’s like you said when we we’re talking about food; we’ve had different life experiences.  When you do undercover work, you see a lot of things you’d like to do something about, but all that does is get you killed. After a while, the urge isn’t so strong.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”  Jack shook her head and leaned back in her chair. “ Fuck it, this was simpler with a soldier like Shepard.  We saw something messed up, we kicked its ass.  This spy bullshit is harder.”

In spite of herself, Miranda laughed. “True enough.”

She was ready to go to sleep, but Jack didn’t seem willing to let the topic drop so easily.  “So what was the worst spy-type thing you ever did?  Ya know, back when you were still wearing your black and gold panties and waving your Cerberus pom poms.”

She narrowed her eyes, suspicious of Jack’s motives.  “What does it matter now?”

“It matters because I wanna know.”

Miranda crossed her arms under her chest, turning her gaze to the crashed prison ship below them.  “For what purpose?”

“Maybe I just wanna know who I have watching my back out here. So answer the damn question.”

She took a deep breath. She could tell Jack was trying to establish some sort of trust with her even if the convict didn’t realize it but Miranda never had been one to open up. In all her years she’d only shared herself completely with one person. A man who broke her heart, left her for some simple minded Alliance grunt, and then got himself killed before she even had the chance for a proper goodbye.

_Why not? We’ll probably both be dead by the end of the week anyway._

Miranda kept her eyes trained outside as she spoke, not wanting to look Jack in the eye. “Two years before the Illusive Man assigned me to the Lazarus project, I worked an undercover op on the planet Bekenstein.”

“Undercover? Like what we’re doing now?”

“No. Something much more...intimate. There was a woman who lived on the colony, an engineer by the name of Sameen Pasi who’d created a prototype for an adaptive artificial intelligence. A machine that could learn on a level far beyond anything that had come before it. It’s applications were nearly limitless. The Illusive Man wanted her AI for Cerberus but Sameen wasn’t selling, to Cerberus or anyone else. So he sent me in, posing as a fellow researcher named Doctor Vivian Walker.”

“To kill her?”

“We needed her to help us understand the AI’s source code and she couldn’t do that if she was dead. He wanted me to get close to her, to befriend her. To acquire her as an asset.”

“Shit, if you were the friendliest girl that bastard could send in it’s no wonder Cerberus went tits up.”

“Sam and I...we had a lot in common. Perhaps the Illusive Man knew that before he selected me for the mission. She was brilliant, driven… isolated. Her wife had recently died from an element zero exposure that she’d suffered at their labs. Sameen had created her machine as a sort of tribute to her, to deal with the loss I suspect. It took me three months to get her to trust me. Once she did, we grew quite...close. At times, I’d forget Sameen was simply an assignment. Eventually I convinced her to let me assist in the AI’s development. She wanted to release the source code to the public when it was finished.  She said that something so powerful should benefit everyone. As you might have guessed, the Illusive Man did not share her sentiment.”

Miranda spared a glance at her partner and found that Jack actually appeared to be listening. “Then what happened?” she asked.

“I procured Sameen’s code. Some of it actually went into the EDI project, as I recall. I told the Illusive Man that the mission was finished but he didn’t agree. He said that a woman as brilliant as Doctor Pasi was someone humanity couldn’t afford to let fall into the wrong hands. If I couldn’t turn Sam then… I’d have to burn the asset.”

“Damn. So what did you do?”

Miranda looked back outside. “I followed my orders.”

She braced herself for Jack’s response. Anticipating how she’ll call her a monster, a backstabbing bitch and all the other epithets Miranda knew she deserved. She’d had more than enough time to reflect on her career with Cerberus when she was in Alliance custody and she could hardly blame Jack for hating her. Yet instead of the curse laced response she was anticipating, she was rewarded with a truly unexpected reply.

“That’s pretty messed up,” Jack said before she leaned her head back and stared up at the building’s rotting ceiling. “Whatever, what’s done is done. We should sleep, it’s not like Cerberus is gonna make things any easier on us tomorrow.”

That’s it?

Miranda let her surprise at the woman’s apparent understanding slip away before she spoke. “You’re right. We’ll need to be at our best.”

Miranda leaned her head back against the couch’s cushioned arm and thankfully found that getting comfortable didn’t take too long. Before she fell asleep, however, Miranda’s eyes turned back to her partner as Jack settled herself in for the night, inspecting the ugly scars that marred her body.  Miranda cringed when she thought of all the horrors Cerberus must have inflicted upon her as a child, knowing better than most what it meant to have your innocence taken from you. She had done some truly horrible things for Cerberus over the years. Sameen was only one name on a long list.

Perhaps we’re not entirely different after all. My scars are just on the inside.

Before sleep could take them both Miranda was overcome with a sudden need to speak her mind.  “For what it’s worth, Jack… I’m sorry.”

Jack’s brown eyes shot back open in clear surprise. For a moment she thoughtfully stared at Miranda, no doubt trying to figure out if the woman’s apology was genuine or just some attempt at manipulating her but Miranda had meant it.  Whether she believed that or not, though, Jack only replied with a quick, “Go to sleep, Cheerleader.”

It wasn’t long before Miranda could hear the sounds of Jack’s breathing slow as she drifted back off and the operative did her best to follow her.  If there was one thing spies and soldiers had in common, it was that you had to rest when you could because tomorrow was usually going to be worse than today.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while since this last chapter, but my co-author has been on vacation. Regular updates should resume.

At first, the new day actually started off alright.  The abandoned building’s large windows allowed the first rays of dawn to pour in, and as they bathed her face, Miranda smiled. It was only now, having it back, that she realized how much she had missed that early morning light. That dreadful little prison the Alliance had kept her in had afforded no such luxuries.

Jack, however, was clearly not a morning person.  She awoke with a good deal of grumbling, muttering something doubtless obscene under her breath.

“Good morning, Jack,” Miranda told her, her own mood enhanced by the convict’s discomfort.

“Fuck the morning,” Jack muttered, pulling on her boots. “It’s too damn early and I’m hungry.”

“I am too, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy this sunrise. Who knows how many more we’ll get to see?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s pretty and all that bullshit.  So, you got a fucking plan to get us into that prison yet?  ‘Cause I’m guessing they’ve got some grub there we can take after we finish kicking their asses.”

Miranda permitted herself a small laugh at that.  The previous days’ meal was a fading memory and given how likely it was that they were going to have to use their biotics soon, they had better find something to eat.  “I think I do,” she replied, “But you’re probably not going to like it.”

“Oh, really?”  Jack finished tightening the laces and stood up straight.  Somehow, her generally disheveled state meant that having slept in a chair didn’t change her appearance very much.  “Why’s that?”

“Well, if you want to get into a heavily guarded facility, there are three possible approaches. You can fight your way in, which despite your talent for destruction, I don’t think we have enough muscle to do.  You can sneak in, but I doubt you'll be able to take the silent approach for long.  Or, you can get whoever runs it to let you in.”

“Okay, I take your point. I’m not a child. Now, how do we do that?” There was a suspicious edge in Jack’s voice that sounded as if she already had an idea as to what Miranda was planning.

“There are two kinds of people who get admitted into a prison: guards and captives. We don’t currently have the credentials to pass as the first one for long, but I think we might be able to pull off the second. Particularly with a regime this eager to round up dissidents. What I propose is that one of us plays the loyal Cerberus member who captured some alien-loving degenerate, and the other is said degenerate. That should allow us to get inside long enough to find this Brother Givoni and get him talking."

Jack’s eyes narrowed, her suspicions now confirmed. “And I’m guessing you think I’m going to be the prisoner.”

“Look at the two of us, Jack.  Which do you think is more plausible in that role? Besides, I know enough Cerberus protocol to maintain our cover, at least for a little while.”

Jack edged closer to Miranda, hesitation clearly written on her face. Miranda suspected that the convict knew, on some level, that she was right, but her natural suspiciousness wouldn’t let her just come out and say so. “So, I’ve got to be your prisoner? How do I know this isn’t just some bullshit Cerberus trick to escape?”

“If I wanted to escape, I would’ve let you drown back at the wreck. Besides, you won’t really be helpless. I’ll have to take your gun but no one here knows you’re a biotic, so you might look like a prisoner, but I'm sure you would have no problems killing me if you think I’m betraying you. And really, do you want to be the one saying ‘Hail Cerberus’ or whatever other nonsense we’ll have to tell them in order to get them to trust us?”

Jack threw up her hands, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of Miranda’s arguments. “Fine, fine, cheerleader.  You win.  You get to pick up your pom poms again and I’ll be the fucking prisoner.”

A small smile crossed Miranda’s face. “Excellent. Now, then, what exactly should you have done to get thrown in prison..." 

***

“Fucking a turian?  Right out in public?”

Miranda shook her head disapprovingly.  “Not just a turian. Two of them. Right in the middle of some filthy alleyway, sucking one of them off while the other screwed her from behind. But look at her?  Can you really be that surprised she’d lay with animals like those?”

Jack snarled in a mixture of mock disapproval and the real thing.  The more outrageous the lie, the better it will serve, Miranda had told her.  Truth may not be stranger than fiction, but people expect it to be.  Still, the operative couldn’t deny that she was taking a certain perverse pleasure in this particular deception.

“Nah, I guess not,” another of the guards along the barricade laughed. “Talk about trash.  I wonder if it was for credits or if she just likes it that way.”

“Fuck you!” Jack spat. “This bitch is making it all up.”

“I would’ve had the bone faces she was screwing too,” Miranda said, ignoring Jack’s protests, “But they ran off like the alien cowards they are when they saw me coming.  This one, though, couldn’t go so fast, not with her pants down around her ankles.”

“I will get you for this,” Jack growled under her breath, but Miranda didn’t feel too bad for her.  Not after the incident with her Cerberus uniform pants the previous day, and especially not because the deception seemed to be working.

The sergeant in charge of the blockade nodded.  “Okay, we’ll lower the shield and you can take her to the intake office and tell him what you saw. This bitch’ll be one of the few humans in there.”

“Will do,” Miranda said before shoving Jack towards the gateway.

“Welcome to the Kennel,” the sergeant said, a note of sadistic glee evident in his voice.

As they moved across the yard and towards the crashed prison ship Jack took advantage of the momentary solitude to voice her disapproval. “Really? A fucking alien threeway on the curb?”

“Just be glad I didn’t make the aliens vorcha and shut up,” Miranda snapped before shoving her once more to keep their cover.

"Ya know, I actually fucked a turian once. It's not so bad really."

"Why am I not surprised?  I would keep that information to yourself around here."

Even though the prison ship was situated inside of an impact crater, it was still upright and relatively level. A boarding ramp had been set in place and the lone entrance in and out of it was guarded by a squad of six men.

“Got a new one?” one of the guards asked.

“Yeah.”  Miranda didn’t feel the urge to engage these bastards in more conversation than necessary.

One of the guards stepped in front of their path. “What’s your name? I’ve never seen you around here before and believe me…” The man eyed Miranda up and down, “I’d remember.”

“She does look kind of familiar,” another one of the guards observed, “But I don’t know from where.”

“I was just transferred to this posting.  Now, I need to take the prisoner inside. Step aside.”

Miranda put as much of her old authority as she could manage into her voice and the guards gave her another look, one that made her want to puke, before they finally moved out of her way. “She looks like a fun catch,” one of them commented as Miranda escorted Jack inside.

The prison ship the Typhon people had lovingly referred to as “The Kennel” was a large vessel. Though not the same size as the Purgatory, it did remind Miranda of the station she had first met Jack aboard what felt like several lifetimes ago.

_Nostalgic for the first time I met Jack? I must be losing my mind._

After passing through the decontamination chamber, the doors opened up to a small prisoner intake office occupied only by a scrawny man behind a desk, an empty holo-pad, and a garbage chute on the back wall. The man didn’t raise his eyes from the datapad he was reading as Jack and Miranda approached him, instead just stretching out one hand.

“ID card?”

_Shit_.  “Excuse me?” Miranda asked, trying not to show her concern.

Finally the man looked up and for a moment he appeared taken back by Miranda’s beauty.  But only a moment.  “Your card. C’mon, you people know the drill. If you’re going inside the Kennel, you have a card. Where is it?”

“Look, I just got transferred to this ship and they haven’t given me whatever card you’re talking about yet,” Miranda explained. “Can’t you buzz me in instead?”

“No card, no entry.”

Miranda looked up to the corners of the room and saw that the security cameras were aimed at the ground. She doubted whatever power system they had running this ship was enough to keep the cameras operational, which worked in her favor.

Miranda let go of Jack’s arm and sauntered over behind the desk, making sure to sway her hips as she drew closer to the clerk.  “Well, you have a card don’t you?”

“Uh...of course,” the man answered, his voice catching as Miranda sat down on his desk and beamed a sultry gaze at him.

“Where is it? I’d like to see it.”

“I really shouldn’t…”

“Come on, I want you to show it to me.”  Miranda rested a hand on the man’s knee.  “I really don’t want to mess this new posting up. The lieutenant who sent me here never even told me about the ID cards.”

“They’re idiots like that.  Ya know Father Ford once visited us here and he said I did good work unlike all the other knuckle draggers in this posting.”

“Really?” Miranda pretended to be impressed.

“Well...he implied it.”

“That’s amazing.  Have you met Brother Givoni too?”

“Oh sure!  Brother Givoni is here right now actually.  Do you know him?”

“I’m just an admirer, I’m afraid.”

“Well you can find him in his workshop in Cell Block D once you get inside. Me and him are pretty close actually ...don’t tell him I said that though.”

“Thanks, maybe I’ll stop by. So what does this ID card look like?”

“I guess I could show you mine.  No harm in that, right?”  The man reached into his pocket and handed a thin, plastic card to Miranda.  “Pretty neat right? I personally re-worked the Kennel’s security systems to only allow access to card bearers. No door in this entire facility will open without one.”

“Thank you.”  Miranda smile never wavered as she knocked the man out cold with a single punch.

_Too easy._

“Damn! How the hell did you do that, cheerleader?”  For once, Jack sounded impressed.

“He’s a man,” Miranda answered bluntly as she circled back around the desk.  “Most of them lose their minds if you flaunt your tits and imply you might be interested.  Think you can fit into his uniform?”

Jack shrugged and removed the civilian Cerberus shirt she had previously stolen before taking the guard’s clothes.  They were an awkward fit, too long in the sleeves, but not a total disaster either.

Miranda picked up the datapad the guard had been looking at and found it filled with a series of photos the guards of the prison had taken with various prisoners. Many of the later group were no longer alive, and even those who were presented a disturbing picture, battered and bloody. As she swiped through them, she came upon one featuring the very same man she had just punched, smiling while posing next to the mangled corpse of an asari.

_Is this it? Was this the Illusive Man’s grand vision for humanity?_

“What the hell are we gonna do with him? He’s gonna wake up eventually.”

“No, he won’t.”  Miranda pressed the barrel of her gun against the man’s chest to silence the blast and minimize the blood spray when she pulled the trigger.  His body lurched back as she fired before it slumped forward, a little bit of blood dripping from his lips.

“What the hell?!” Jack cried, for once the one surprised by the display of violence.

“These walls were made for deep space, nobody heard that. And if you’re worried whether he deserved it...” Miranda tossed the datapad to the convict.

As Jack scrolled through the photos her eyes narrowed into furious slits.  “Fucking animals.”

“It seems this planet’s depravity knows no bounds. These people need to be put down.  If what’s going on here ever reached the rest of the galaxy humanity’s reputation would be even more damaged than it is already.”

Jack tossed the datapad aside. “You’re worried about humanity’s reputation? You still sound like a Cerberus bitch, cheerleader.”

“You really think I’m like these people, Jack?”

After a moment of silence Jack answered. “No...I guess not.”

Miranda turned her attention to the garbage chute on the wall of the intake office. “Good.  Now grab his legs.”

After Jack finished putting on the guard’s uniform shirt, she helped Miranda shove the man’s body into the opening.  As they watched his corpse tumble down the chute, Jack turned to Miranda. “Where do you think it goes?”

“If we’re lucky, an incinerator. But seeing as this ship was meant to be in space I’m betting it empties out some kind of a waste dump instead.  I doubt people will go looking for him there, at least until we’re well clear of this place.”

After they used Jack’s old shirt to clean up the little bit of blood on the ground they tossed the dirty garment down the chute as well before heading for the large automatic door opposite the Kennel’s entrance. Miranda pressed the guard’s ID to the reader and with a hiss, the doors slid apart.

What they opened into was as close as Miranda had been to the mouth of hell.  The prison ship was laid out in a fairly standard fashion: three tiers of cells arranged in a circular pattern around a central, open area, but the conditions in these cells were far from standard.  It’s not as if the ones she’d seen before were luxury Citadel apartments, but prisoners weren’t usually packed in this four or five to a cell, nor were they as likely to have untreated wounds.  It was a varied assortment too, turians, asari, salarians, and even a couple of drell and a krogan visible from her vantage point on the middle tier.  A few humans were mixed in as well, but they made only a small break in sea of hundreds of alien prisoners who filled the rest of the cell block.

If the sight was bad, the sounds might have been worse.  Many of the inmates were groaning or crying out in pain, while others seemed to be caught up in furious arguments made worse by their close quarters.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Jack gasped. “Every time I think these Cerberus bastards can’t go any lower…”

“I know,” Miranda said softly.  The place was an assault upon the senses, and she blinked hard, trying to summon up her mental barriers so that she could close herself off from some of the horror and remember their mission.

The cacophony was suddenly pierced by the sound of a gunshot.  Miranda’s head whipped around and she saw a tall, thin woman with dark hair circling around towards them, a small shotgun in one hand.  “Shut the fuck up,” she barked, “Or the next one’s going in your cells.”  The screams and cries diminished somewhat and she then turned to the two women. “Hey there.  Sorry about that; the animals get riled up sometimes.”  She stuck out her hand while looking Miranda up and down. “Hi, I’m Miriam. Welcome to the Kennel. You're the new girl right?  The buzz is some new pretty face had just been transferred in."

Miranda managed to beat back her shock long enough to shake. “Good to meet you. I’m Elizabeth.  Sorry, this place is a little overwhelming.”

“Yeah, at first most people feel that way.  You’ll get used to it.”

Jack shook her hand as well, showing what Miranda felt was an unusually admirable amount of restraint.  “Jacqueline.  We both got transferred here.”

“Boys only mentioned one new guard..." Miriam said before seemingly shrugging it off. "They must be bad at math too. God knows we can use the help, what with all the scum we’ve got jammed in here.  Anyway, you picked a good time to show up.  The fights are just getting started, and you don’t want to miss that.  Come on, I’ll take you.”

Deciding not to ask too many questions lest she give away the game, Miranda fell in behind the taller woman, and Jack did the same.  They made a half circle of the tier towards another door, and as they passed by some of the cells, the operative had to fight back the urge to wretch.  They had basic sanitary facilities but clearly some of the ones there weren’t working, and the stench was nauseating; a mixture of blood, and refuse, and other alien odors she couldn’t entirely place, but was fairly sure she didn’t want to, all made worse by the lack of an active climate regulator to control the heat.

Thankfully, the odors abated once Miriam had led them out of the cell block, but Miranda’s relief didn’t last long.  From down the hallway they were now in, she could hear the sounds of cheering, and in a place like this, she suspected that didn’t portend anything good.

When the next door was opened, Miranda realized why the previous cells had been so overcrowded.  They were in another, similar cell-block, but there were only a tiny handful of prisoners kept in the cells here, generally of a particularly hard-looking type.  Instead, the room was mostly filled with guards, and all thirty of so of them were gathered around the railings, watching the action in the circular area at the bottom of the cell block so intently that they barely turned their heads at the new arrivals.

There, two combatants dressed in orange jumpsuits were circling each other.  One was a turian, a lean, scared specimen with a deep scar along his cheek, blue blood dripping from a number of cuts, and a murderous gleam in his eyes.  His asari opponent was wearing a metal collar around her neck, no doubt to suppress her biotics, but even without them she was clearly formidable.  The woman was one of the largest members of her species Miranda had ever seen, tall and unusually broad in the chest, her large arms bulging with muscle. She also had a few cuts, but less than the turian, and her movements seemed more energetic.

Noticing her interest in the second fighter, Miriam told her, “That’s Alfina, the current champ.  8-0 already, and it looks like win number 9 isn’t far off.”

The turian lunged at this Alfina, but she grabbed his wrists and drove forward, slamming her knee up into his torso.  He recoiled with a grunt and tried to wrench himself free, but her hold was too strong.  A second strike of the her knee left the turian gasping for breath and he tried a headbutt instead, slamming his ridges into Alfina’s skull.

This caused the asari to release one of his wrists, but it didn’t do him any good.  Before he could use the arm for anything, she used her hold on the other one to flip the turin onto the ground.  He crashed into the hard concrete with a sickening thud, one that was followed up by a vicious kick at his ribs.  He screamed at the blow, but when a second one followed it, he went limp instead, curling up into a ball and whimpering, even as the assembled guards hooted and cheered his defeat.

Alfina looked up to the gallery, but in her eyes, Miranda’s didn’t see the sort of sadistic fervor she was becoming all too used to.  Instead, there was only a deep weariness, perhaps mixed in with a tiny streak of pride when she asked, “Well, what do you want me to do with him?”


	8. Chapter 8

Miranda was no stranger to violence. Throughout her long career with Cerberus she’d done more than her fair share of unpleasant things. She’d killed people without knowing the reason why; she’d exploited, lied and manipulated others for Cerberus’ gain more times than she cared to count. Yet for all the bad she’d done, she had never enjoyed it like this.

As she watched the crowd gathered around the make-shift fighting pit, dressed in their black and gold Cerberus uniforms, cheering on two prisoners beating each other to death with their bare hands, Miranda wished she could look away.  She began to wonder how she could ever have been a part of an organization whose members could do something like this. Even if this so called Cerberus was a far cry from the group she’d joined, its roots were there, and the thought made her sick.

After the muscular asari finished beating her turian opponent into submission, she stood above the man and turned to the roaring crowd.

“Well, what do you want me to do with him?” the asari Miriam had identified as Alfina asked.

Suddenly Miranda felt a jab in her side. Miriam elbowed her playfully and turned to Miranda with a smirk on her face. “This is the best part, newbie.”

“Finish him!”

“Stomp his brains out!”

“Kill him!”

The crowd screamed their suggestions with such hatred in their voices that Miranda couldn’t bring herself to watch as Alfina snatched up the beaten turian by the head. Instead she turned her eyes to Jack and found her partner watching the execution with a barely-contained rage that had seemingly grown with each passing second they had spent on Typhon. As the turian’s shrill screams of agony cut through the air, Jack gritted her teeth so hard that veins jutted out from her neck. Noticing that Miriam was too enthralled with the “fight” to notice anything else, Miranda reached a hand over and turned Jack to face her.

“Don’t look,” she whispered.

Jack turned her head back towards the pit. “I have to.”

When Miranda finally found the stomach to look at the scene herself, she found Alfina with blue blood caked on her boots and hands, standing over the corpse of a turian she could hardly recognize.

“How long have these fights been going on?” Miranda asked Miriam.

“Oh, ever since we had more freaks than we could keep in the Kennel’s cages. Who knew population control could be so much fun, right?” she answered with a cheerful pat on Miranda’s back. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it by the end of the week. Besides, these animals deserve it after what they did to us. Don’t ever forget that.”

She tried to cleanse her voice of any trace of mockery. “Of course not.”

“Well, if you’ll excuse me I just won a shitload of credits and I intend on collecting them. I’ll catch up with you two later. Feel free to wander around; only rule here is to make sure the prisoners stay in line.”  Miriam gave them a wave and slipped off into the crowd of spectators.

“Fucking bitch,” Jack hissed under her breath before Miranda could pull her aside to an unoccupied corner.

“I know this is difficult-”

“You don’t have to say it cheerleader. Keep the damn cover. This whole place is just so fucked up.”  Jack buried her face in her hands and paced back and forth.

Miranda crossed her arms, watching the convict seethe, and before her better judgement could stop her, she spoke. “Are you...are you alright, Jack?”

“What the hell do you care? Let’s find this Givoni asshole already.”

“Not yet.”

“What?” Jack spat.

“Thanks to our friend at the gate we already know where to find him. What I’m curious to discover is how this facility came to be.”

“Why’s it matter?”

“Miriam said the non-humans deserved this treatment after what they did to Typhon. The better we understand this planet and its people the better chance we have at getting to Ford.”

“I already know everything I need to know about these bastards.”

“You may feel that way, but it’s only by understanding why these people are following Ford that we can get them to turn on him.  That fighter, the asari, she seemed to know what was expected of her.  It’s probable she’s been here for a long time. We should speak with her. Then we can find Givoni.”

Jack shrugged. “Fine.  Whatever.”

With the “entertainment” over, most of the other guards had cleared out of their make-shift arena, which meant there was no one to interrupt them as they made their way up to the top tier to see Alfina.  The asari had her own cell there, perhaps as a reward for winning so many fights, and when they stopped outside of it, she looked up from the bunk she’d been flopped on.

“What do you two want?”

Up close, the asari was a study in contrasts. The characteristic graceful beauty of her race was present in her light blue face, but it made an odd match with her muscled frame, especially when it was contained in a prison jumpsuit smeared with blood.

“Just to talk,” Miranda replied.

“Since when do you people care about what any of the inmates have to say?  All you want is to hear us scream.”

“We’re not like them.” 

As soon as she said the words, Miranda regretted them. Who in Alfina’s situation would believe anything but the worst of someone wearing this uniform? Indeed, the asari’s response was to snort derisively and say, “Sure you’re not.  You want to be my friends, right?  I don’t care if this is some fucking head game or you really want to walk on the azure side.  Either way, I ain’t biting, so come back when you’ve got some clean clothes for me. These have blood on them.”

Surprisingly, it was Jack who saved the situation. The convict stepped up to the bars, and flicked her wrist, generating a tiny biotic field inside Alfina’s cell. The flash of power yanked her into a sitting position, and more importantly, it got her attention.

“Listen up,” Jack hissed, her voice low enough not to be heard by anyone but the three of them, but filled with unmistakeable venom. “We’re not with Cerberus.  What they’re doing to you, I went through for years.”  She unbuttoned her shirt collar, giving a glimpse of the scars along her neck.  “Believe me when I say I’d rather die than work for those sick fuckers.”

Alfina seemed to shake off her air of indifference. “Suppose I believe you. Who are you and what do you want?”

“The Alliance sent us to Typhon to stop Cerberus,” Miranda said, deciding that, at the very least, she could trust in Alfina’s obvious hate not to betray them to the other guards, “But right now, we don’t even know what’s going on here.  Why are they locking up all the aliens? Why does everyone support them?”

“You really don’t know?” Alfina’s eyes widened. “They say we brought the Reapers here.”

“How does that make sense?” Miranda asked.

“After Thessia fell, there were a lot of refugee ships scattering.  Some of them came here.  So did people from a lot of the other words that were being overrun. Typhon is the nearest habitable world to a lot of planets out here. Plus the Alliance had made a big deal about it being a great place to live, and we knew it hadn’t fallen yet, so we figured it was worth a shot. It wasn’t the best plan in the galaxy, but pretty much nobody had a better one at that point.”

“It was only a few days after my ship got here that the Reapers attacked. Maybe they did follow us.  Maybe they were already coming for the colony.  Who knows? Either way, the Alliance didn’t put up much of a fight. Most of the fleet had already been pulled away for whatever Shepard and Hackett were planning, and the rest go smashed to bits pretty fast. The Reapers landed and started killing everyone, same as they had on Thessia. That was when Cerberus showed up. They had some kind of a base here, and they made the best stand anybody was managing. Probably wouldn’t have been enough, but then one day…”

She shrugged.  “One second, we’re getting killed and the next, this massive energy wave washed over the planet and wiped out the Reaper forces.  Cerberus took the credit, of course. They were a little fuzzy on the details of how they did it, but this Ford who’s leading them claimed he was responsible.”

“Assholes,” Jack growled. “It was Shepard who blew the Reapers up, in spite of all the crap Cerberus threw at him.”

“Shepard, huh?  Well, I guess I owe the man a drink.”

“Save your credits,” Miranda said softly, pained by the reminder of her former lover.  “He didn’t make it.”

Alfina shook her head. “Figures.  It’s always the good ones who pay the price.  Anyway, the Reapers going down was just the start of the shit.  People already blamed us for bringing them here but after that pulse went off... One of the ships that had crashed down during the Reaper invasion was this lovely hunk of junk. The whole place was filled with non-human prisoners and when the security went down, a bunch of them got out. There were good people who called this colony home and I’m not talking about the humans. But after those bastards got out of here and started raising hell, what little good will non-humans had was gone.”

“The prisoners ran amok, and a few innocent people got killed, most of them human. That’s when Cerberus stepped in again. They already were being called saviors for taking down the Reapers and after that little alien riot, they had the excuse they needed to institute their new world order. They said that the alien scum had brought down the Reapers on everybody and if we weren’t put in our place, more shit like that would happen. It was stupid, but everyone was scared and confused, and Cerberus had the most guns, so they went along with it.”

“And you?” Miranda asked. “What’s your part in all this?”

Alfina shook her head.  “I’m just an old commando who got caught in the middle.  So, you gonna let me go or what?”

Miranda felt a twinge of guilt. The weariness in the asari’s voice was heartbreaking, and the operative hated herself for what she had to say.  “I truly wish we could, but there’s just the two of us on Typhon right now. We have to keep ourselves hidden.”

“I suppose it was too much to hope for, but if you get the chance, just give these Cerberus bastards a kick in the ass for me.”

“No doubt,” Jack agreed.  “And maybe we’ll find a way to bust you outta here while we’re at it.”

As they walked away from the cell, Miranda told Jack, “You shouldn’t have done that.  Given her false hope. I doubt we can save ourselves, let alone anyone else.”

“And you shouldn’t give up,” Jack insisted, more determined than Miranda had seen her in some time. “A chick that tough, we could use her on our side.  And nobody deserves to live like that, made to fight like some animal.  Nobody.”

“People don’t deserve a lot of things that happen to them,” Miranda said softly.  “Now let’s go and find Givoni before anyone realizes we don’t belong here.”

“Lead the way, cheerleader.”

Miranda looked up at the faded “D” on one of the prison walls. The ship must have been a human-made vessel once, she realized, to use the English alphabet. “The guard at processing said Givoni had a workshop in cell block D. Hopefully we’ll know it when we see it.”

They walked past the Cerberus guards trading credits through their omni-tools and raving about the viciousness of Alfina’s fight.

_Cerberus was supposed to be about protecting humanity. These animals don’t have a shred of their own left._

Soon enough, they arrived at the “D,” where they entered a door on the wall using their stolen security pass. It opened with a swoosh and as the duo took their first steps into the cell block, it was obvious that something was different there.

The other cell blocks had been ablaze with activity, patrolled by Cerberus guards with the cells packed with noisy alien prisoners. Cell block D was a different story entirely. The lights were dimmed so severely the hall may as well have been lit by candles. Still, Miranda was able to make out the series of cells flanking them as they walked down the hallway.  Instead of the usual swears and grunts of pain, all Miranda could hear was a weak and haunting moan echoing from a few of the darkened cells. Others were unsettlingly silent and bathed in total darkness. It stunk too, not like the other cellblock which had reeked of body odor and sweat, shit and piss. This was a different smell, something more focused, thicker and surprisingly even more revolting. It as almost as if she could taste the air.

Miranda couldn’t stop herself from covering her nose with her hand. “What the hell is that stench?”

Jack answered her without hesitation. “Dried blood.”

“Givoni’s workshop is supposed to be around here. But I can hardly see a damn thing.”

Jack stepped deeper into the hall and approached the cracked reinforced glass of a cell. “I think this whole fucking place is his workshop.”

When Miranda came up beside her and peered inside the cell, she feared the convict was right. In the shadows, there was a figure restrained to the back wall with their arms chained above their head. A low moan was emanating from inside but darkness masked everything else. Miranda suspected it might be a bad idea but Jack had been right back at the fighting pits. She had to see this, had to see what these people had done in the name of the organization she had once sworn her life too.

She powered on the flashlight application of her omni-tool and directed the beam into the cell, and in spite of all her experience, she let out a gasp of horror. Strapped to the wall by the chains around her wrists was an asari, her eyes missing from her head and her legs broken and twisted. The prisoner let out a cry of terror as she sensed someone watching her. “Please…” was all she was able to rasp out.

Miranda quickly shut off the light and turned to Jack, her face as pale as a sheet. Before she could speak, an unexpected sound cut through the tense air. Music. Miranda looked past Jack and down the hall where she noticed a dim light at the end of the line of cells. The sound of an old classical piece Miranda herself loved but now realized she’d never be able to enjoy again was just barely audible.

“I think it’s time we pay this man a visit,” she said, not a trace of warmth in her voice.

“I’ve got a few things I’d like to say to him,” Jack hissed as she spun on her heels and began storming down the hall.

Miranda ran up beside her. “We have to remember to keep this quiet. We can’t blow our cover or the whole city will be after us.”

“Uh-huh,” Jack grunted, barely listening to Miranda’s protests.

As they approached the doorway on the right side of the hallway, they slowed their pace, creeping up towards its entrance.  The music was blaring now but Miranda now could tell it was being used to cover up another sound. A shrill, painful screaming.

Jack peeked her head around the corner and so Miranda was forced to join her. She recognized “Brother” Givoni at once. He stood over a medical table he had positioned in the middle of what looked to be the ship’s old Warden’s office. Strapped to the table was what was left of a human man, the last breath he had left releasing in a pained howl as Givoni stabbed a needle into his arm and pressed down on the plunger.

Miranda knew enough about the human mind to know that this Givoni was a completely different beast from the others they had encountered. Most of the people of Typhon had only just gone mad, drived by their need to hate the aliens just as the people of earth had needed to hate her. They needed a scapegoat, something to direct their anger, fear and grief at now that the war was done. But this man was something else. He’d never had any humanity to lose in the first place.  This wasn’t xenophobia, just sadistic insanity, and war hadn’t created it; it had only unleashed it.

Yet the image of the unsanitary, makeshift lab and the dead human strapped to a table with needles sticking out from his corpse was not an entirely unfamiliar nightmare.  Miranda was filled with dread when she realized the image reminded her of Pragia.  Nor was she the only one.  Before Miranda could stop her Jack ran into the office, her body glowing bright blue.

“Jack, wait!” Miranda cried, unsure of whether to whisper or shout, but her plea fell on deaf ears.

“You fucking Cerberus bastard!” Jack screamed as she ran up on Givoni from behind.

The man moved faster than his bulk would’ve suggested.  At the sound of Jack’s anger, he whirled around, seemingly amused by the tiny woman attacking him. His humor didn’t last though, as inches away from his face, a biotic glow appeared around Jack’s fist, the blow sending him flying into the bloody table behind him.

He recovered quickly though.  Perhaps blinded by her rage, Jack wasn’t ready for the counterattack and Miranda gasped as Givoni’s fist crashed into the side of the convict’s head.  Jack stumbled back but before Givoni could follow the blow up, she blasted him across the office with a biotic throw and a loud scream. The large man crashed into a collection of mason jars on the wall.  They shattered on impact, leaving a disgusting collection of multicolored gore to ooze from the broken glass and onto the man’s back.

“Who the fuck are you?” Givoni growled, even while his hands were fiddling with something behind his back.

Jack didn’t give him an answer, except to charge.  Unfortunately, she was still too angry to see the light of Givoni’s omni-tool ignite.

“Jack!” Miranda screamed while Givoni swung his glowing arm towards his attacker. She only had the blink of an eye to act. Just as a stream of flames flew from the device towards the convict, Miranda tossed Jack across the room with her own biotic throw.

The convict howled in rage as she flew against the wall but Miranda had succeeded in sparing her from the worst of Givoni’s flames. As Jack rolled on the ground, trying to beat out the rest of them, the Cerberus commander turned his gaze to Miranda.

“You’re not Cerberus,” he growled. “Which means I get to play with you two all I want.”

“Try it, you bastard,” Miranda hissed as she raised her glowing fists.

Givoni charged, his eyes wild and angry as he barreled towards her. Miranda dodged the tackle like a matador and threw a warp at her enemy. The attack landed with a loud crack but it didn’t seem to slow the man down, the tell-tale glimmer of a personal shield appearing around his body.

Givoni’s omni-tool extended into a large, searing blade and Miranda’s eyes widened as she tried to jump out of the way. The man’s reach was too long however and the strike too quick to be avoided entirely and the tip of the omni-blade sliced across her stomach.  It wasn’t deep enough to hit an organ but the cut still drew an immediate rush of blood. 

Miranda let out a cry of pain but she kept her fists up and was quick enough to duck under the man’s follow-up right hook. She tried to push the pain from her mind and remember the combat training she’d received from Cerberus years ago.

Target pressure points. Damage vital organs.

She jabbed her fist into the man’s ribcage, giving the blow a biotic boost.  The shields buckled and she felt bones snap, but even then, Givoni was undeterred. Miranda aimed her next attack for his kneecap but the wound to her stomach made her sloppy. The bastard caught her leg in his giant hand and pulled her in close, wrapping his giant treetrunk arms around her like an anaconda squeezing the life out of it’s prey.

“You’re prettier than the others,” he leered.

Miranda played the only card she had left, lunging forward and sinking her teeth into whatever she could reach. A rush of blood filled her mouth as she bit down on Givoni’s face and at last the giant man flinched. He threw Miranda to the ground and she took a strip of flesh in her mouth as a parting gift. The man cried out in pain and rage and pressed a hand to his ruined cheek. Blood seeped through the cracks in his fingers, drenching his bushy mutton chops as he gritted his teeth.

“You still think I’m pretty?” Miranda taunted after she spat the bit of Givoni’s face out of her mouth.

He howled as he charged at her once more.  Before she could scramble to her feet Givoni had snatched Miranda by the hair and hoisted into the air. “Whore!  I’m gonna-”

“Get the fuck off of her!” Jack screamed as she hurled a biotic wave into the man, knocking him off of his feet and Miranda from his grasp.

The convict fell on top of him and just when Miranda expected to see the large beast roll her to the ground under his immense weight, she noticed Jack had one of Givoni’s tools clutched tightly in her hand. Before he could act, Jack struck. She brought the man’s own meat cleaver down on his outstretched arm and cut halfway through the bone on the first strike.

He howled in agony as Jack followed the strike up, chopping the man’s arm off just below the elbow. Blood shot from the wound like a geyser but Jack didn’t let up. She tossed the cleaver aside before she snatched the shocked man’s head up in her tattooed hands, and Miranda cringed as Jack plunged her thumbs into Givoni’s eye sockets.

It was a fitting punishment considering the horrors they had seen this man inflict, but Miranda was still stunned by Jack’s brutality. She stood still, her hand pressed to her bleeding stomach as the convict went to work.

“Where is he?!” Jack screamed.  When all he did was moan, she snatched the cleaver up again. “Tell me where I can find Ford or I keep cutting pieces off!”

“W-What?! Ford?!” the eyeless man groaned.

Jack smashed her fist into his face. “Where is Ford?!”

“The tower!” Givoni howled. “He’s in the tower!”

“What was that?!” Jack said.

“Ford. The tower in the c-center of the city. The top floor is where he stays….he hasn’t left it since he started getting sick.”

Finally Miranda joined in. “Sick? What’s wrong with him?”

“Let me go,” Givoni pleaded, cowering like any bully who’d been taken down a peg.

“Answer the question, asshole,” Jack sneered back.

“Something about his heart. It’s fucked up, I don’t know. Ever since that red pulse went off and took down the Reapers, it’s been acting up.”

“If we go to this tower, we’ll find Ford at the top?” Miranda asked.

“Yes…” he whimpered..

“I swear to God if you’re lying…” Jack hissed.

“I’m not!” Givoni swore. The blood streaming down his face from his empty eye sockets made him nearly unrecognizable now. “Who are you crazy bitches?!”

“Crazy?! We’re the crazy ones?!” Jack slammed her fist into the man’s face once more. “Look at what you’re doing to these people?! Do you have any fucking idea what it’s like to be locked up? To be experimented on and tortured?! To be treated as a fucking object your whole life?!” Jack kept raining blows down on Givoni as she screamed.  “You think they deserved this, you fuck?! That I did?!  Do you have any fucking idea what people like you cost me? What you took from me?!”

“Jack…” Miranda’s voice wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the convict’s anger.

“So many good people died for nothing while scum like you gets to survive and do whatever the fuck they want?” Jack’s knuckles were split open now, but she still didn’t stop. “It’s not fucking fair! Why are they dead and you get a free fucking pass? Why did I survive and they didn’t?!” Jack had screamed herself hoarse by then, but she still smashed both of of her fists in Givoni’s ruined face until it resembled nothing so much as a raw steak.

“Jack!” Miranda cried as she pulled the convict away from what reminded of the butcher.

“Get the fuck off me, cheerleader!” Jack yelled and it was then that Miranda saw the tears in her eyes.

“Calm down,” Miranda told her, her voice more soothing now.

The convict wouldn’t listen. She continued to struggle against Miranda’s hold. “Let me go! I’m not done with him!”

Miranda heard the depths of the pain in Jack’s voice. She’d suspected something was off with her ever since they had been reunited but she’d underestimated just how bad the situation was. Jack was shattered, a broken woman without anything left to live for but this suicide mission against Cerberus.

Jack continued to thrash in her hold and so Miranda acted on instinct. She pulled the convict into her arms and held her close in a desperate attempt to calm her down.  Perhaps Miranda should have just felt pity for her but there was something more there now.  Empathy.  She understood Jack’s pain entirely. It was what she had lived with for months now, and she knew exactly how lost and alone the convict was.

Finally Jack stopped resisting and buried her face in Miranda’s shoulder.  The operative brought a hand up and tried her best to comfort her, running her fingers through Jack’s short brown hair, and holding her close.  After a time, she realized that Jack had stopped trying to pull away, instead returning Miranda’s embrace.

I should let go, she thought as she shut her eyes and kept her arms wrapped around the other woman.  Why don’t I want to let her go?

But before Miranda could answer her own question, an ear splitting siren cut through the air as red lights began to flash all through the cell block. At last Jack and Miranda separated and stared at each other with wide eyes as the prison alarm continued to wail.

Miranda looked to Givoni and her stomach filled with dread when she found the man’s omni-tool flashing despite the fact that the man himself was beyond dead.

Shit. The alarms must be linked his pulse.

Miranda grabbed Jack’s hand and yanked her towards the room’s exit. “We need to leave! Now!”

Jack pulled her hand away from Miranda’s. “No way. You saw what they’re doing to these people here. We need to shut this place down.”

“We need to shut this whole planet down and do that we have to get to Ford. That doesn’t happen if we’re dead.”

Jack weakly nodded her head in agreement. “Let’s go,” she said, only sparing a second to spit on Givoni’s corpse as they exited his “lab.”

If anything, the cell block looked even more disturbing bathed in the red light of the alarm, but Miranda didn’t have the time to worry about that now.  A prison was not a good place to be trapped in, especially after you’d just killed the warden. Things were bad enough on their side of the bars.

Thankfully, no one got in their way as they dashed out of Cell Block D, but that was as far as their luck extended.  Halfway between the arena and the cell block they had first entered, a voice cried out, “Stop right there!”

Miranda looked up, and on the tier above her, she saw Miriam along with a half dozen of her fellow guards, assembled into an impromptu posse that already had their guns out.  “I should’ve known something was up with you two,” she yelled out, her earlier friendliness gone. “Now put your hands in the air before we shoot you two bitches where you stand.”

Perfect. 

The two of them had their biotics, but the guards had the numbers, as well as the high ground.  Maybe Miranda and Jack could take out this group, but in the time it would take, reinforcements would come. Their reserves of energy weren’t limitless, and the wound carved across her stomach already ached.

Beside her, she could see Jack’s teeth clench with hate, flickers of her biotics already evident in the air around her.  Maybe this was what she wanted; to die taking as many Cerberus guards with her as she could.  Hell, that was probably why she’d volunteered for this mission in the first place.  In spite of everything she’d lost, though, Miranda realized that she didn’t want to die that way in this fucking hell, and she didn’t want that for Jack either.  As the guards trained their weapons on them, the operative raised her arms in seeming surrender but at the same time, she frantically scanned the room for some way out of their predicament.

“Stick ‘em up, you tattooed piece of trash!” one of the other guards yelled over the sound of the alarm, but before Jack could respond, Miranda saw it.  10 meters or so away from where she stood was a control panel that read, “Caution.  Cell block door release.”

Well, the man did say this would open any door in the building. 

Without warning, Miranda dove in the direction of the panel.  The guards opened fire on her as she ran, and she pushed everything she had left into her barriers. Shots slammed into her body and she grimaced at the pain of their impacts, but she kept going in spite of it.  Do or die, she reminded herself, and with a final effort, she hurled herself forward and pressed the keycard against the panel.  It flashed once, and after that, everything went completely mad.


	9. Chapter 9

It was a krogan who attacked first.  When the cell doors slid open, there was an instant where everyone else froze, unsure of what to do, and while the rest of the guards and prisoners hesitated, the under-fed but still savage krogan in one of the mid-tier cells hurled himself forward, sinking his teeth into the guard standing just outside of his door.

The man screamed as the flesh of his neck was torn away, and then everything seemed to happen at once.  The others guards forgot all about Jack and Miranda, whirling on the cells and opening fire on everything that moved, or didn’t, while the prisoners rushed forward, realizing that it was now kill or be killed.  Several of them were gunned down immediately, a multi-colored spray of blood filling the air above Miranda before it showered down on her, but it wasn’t enough.  Some of the prisoners were only a few feet away from their captors, too close to be killed before they could engage.  These gladiators had been selected precisely because they were deadly in a bare-handed fight, and now they turned those skills to new use, tearing skin and breaking bone with a breathtaking fury.

Nor were they the only ones.  With the guards’ attention diverted, there was nothing to stop Jack from unleashing her biotics on them.  A pair of those who had backed away from the cells rather than just shooting were seized by powerful energy fields and hurled through the air, their bodies smashed against the walls of the ship before Jack folded their spines back onto themselves.

Miranda herself didn’t jump in immediately.  The bullets hadn’t broken her barriers completely, but they had cracked them, and her skin burned at half a dozen impact points, to say nothing of the omni-blade wound she had taken earlier.  By the time she managed to pull herself back to her feet, the riot was already in full swing.  More guards were pouring in from several of the doors, while some of the prisoners had begun forcing their way out of the cell block, either to try and escape or to free more of their fellows.  Several of the guns had fallen into their hands as well, and as the battle spread, no quarter was being asked or given.

As Miranda stared at the carnage, Jack took a break from tossing around Cerberus guards to ask, “You okay there, cheerleader?”

She patted down her sides, doing a quick self-assessment.  “Nothing seems to be broken.  I’ll live.”

At least Jack didn’t seem unhappy to hear that.  “Good,” she said with a nod, “Then let’s finish kicking these fuckers’ asses.”

Miranda shook her head, resigning herself to this new situation.  The plan had been to slip out of the prison without giving away their presence, but once the alarm had gone off, that was clearly not going to happen.  Now there was nothing to do but tear down this monument to inhumanity that Cerberus had constructed and deal with the consequences later.

Pushing aside her pain, she picked out a guard who’d gotten the upper hand over the turian he was grappling with and hurled a ball of biotic energy into his rear. He screamed at the impact, lurching forward into the prisoner, who shoved him over the railing and down to the hard metal floor below.  He landed flat on his back, a sickening crack and a final cry of pain the only sounds he made before going still.

“Feel’s good, doesn’t it?” Jack asked rhetorically.  “Cutting loose on these bastards after everything they’ve done.  You can’t tell me you’re not digging it.”

Miranda just nodded.  She could tell that Jack’s attempt at good cheer was in part an attempt to cover the vulnerability she’d showed after killing Givoni, but the convict wasn’t entirely wrong either.  Ever since landing on Typhon, they’d been witness to so many horrors they couldn’t do anything about that it felt good to extract some small measure of justice.

She got a few more shots in, but the battle for this particular cell block was all but over.  The guards were routed or dead, and as the fighting died down, the tall, blue form of Alfina stood out among the the surviving prisoners.  Her many victories in the arena made her their natural champion, and she was swiftly moving to take control of the situation.  “Make sure all these bastards are really down,” she barked as she stalked across the room.  “I don’t want to get shot it the back.”

Miranda lowered her gun as the asari fighter came to a stop before her. “Well shit, I guess you’re really not with Cerberus, humans.  Thank you for this.”

“You want to thank us, then help us clear a path out of here,” Jack told her.

“Sorry, no can do. This whole place is filled with people locked up and tortured for far too long and I’ll be damned if I’m going to just leave them here to die. I’m not leaving till every cell is this hellhole is opened. Then we’ll take the fight to these bastards.”

Miranda looked over to Jack as she put pressure on her bleeding stomach. “Fine.  That should provide a good enough distraction to cover our escape anyway.”

The convict nodded.  “Then what the fuck are we waiting for?”

“Hold up!” Alfina called after them as the pair turned to leave.  “I’m not about to leave my debt unpaid.  I wasn’t sure if I could trust you two before, but now I’ve got a little advice for you.”

“Advice?” Miranda asked.

“Cerberus likes to act as if they locked every non-human on this rock up in here but that’s not true. There’s a resistance camp just outside the city walls. A few months ago, before I got captured, my bondmate and I helped put it together. If I know her, she’s still alive and ready to get revenge. The place was filled with refugees who want nothing more than to see these assholes burn for what they’ve done to us and with the prisoners I can spring, we should be able to raise enough hell to mobilize every non-human on the planet to finally take up arms and settle the score. If you manage to get out of here and you ever need an assist, you can come find me there.”

“Where exactly is this camp?” Miranda asked.

“In the south district of the city, just beyond the Cerberus walls there’s an old shopping mall. You’ll know it when you see the giant Reaper crashed down outside of it.”  Alfina reached down, grabbing an Avenger off of a dead guard.  “Good luck, humans.”

“You too,” Jack said before the asari turned to address her fellow prisoners.

“Grab whatever weapons you can find and get ready to roll out!  We don’t leave any of these Cerberus bastards standing!”

Miranda looked to her partner. “I think we just started a revolution, Jack.”

“About damn time these sons of bitches got what was coming to them. Let’s move, cheerleader.”

The only exit Miranda knew of was the way they came in, and so the duo ran for the metal staircase and climbed up to the second level. Miranda spared one last look at the fighting pits below, now stained with Cerberus blood. Her satisfaction was cut short when her head suddenly went dizzy and her legs crumbled underneath her.  Before Miranda could hit the ground though, Jack’s arms caught her. “Shit. You all right?!”

Miranda regained her footing and looked down to the wound in her stomach that had painted the front of her uniform red. “I’m...fine.”

_Just potentially bleeding to death._

“The hell you are. Stay behind me, cheerleader.  I’ll cover your ass.”

Miranda swore she could hear genuine concern in the biotic’s voice, but there was no time to think about it.  When they reached the top of the stairs they were greeted with more carnage. Some of the freed prisoners had run straight for the exit instead of joining Alfina’s army and it appeared that several Cerberus guards had had the same idea.

Bodies littered the hallway that lead to the entry processing room they had first passed through to enter the Kennels. Blood of all different colors painted the walls and the state of the corpses Miranda saw was enough to turn her already-queasy stomach.  Most of the guards had had their heads caved in by the mob of murderous prisoners while others had been torn apart. The aliens that laid dead were covered in bullet holes, some so thoroughly riddled they were no longer recognizable.

Miranda braced herself against the wall with one hand to keep her feet steady as she navigated around the wreckage. Halfway down the hall, she suddenly jumped back when her foot landed on something that cried out in pain. She and Jack turned and looked to the blood-stained floor to find the battle’s lone survivor. The one guard Miranda recognized, a woman who, just a few minutes prior was ready to shoot them both.  Miriam was propped up against the wall; one of her hands was a shredded mess of gore and blood, and her stomach had been torn open by what Miranda guessed were turian claws.

“You bitches…” Miriam gasped for air between sentences, spitting up globs of blood instead. “Let me guess, you think you're some kind of heroes...that you did the right thing letting those filthy creatures run free?”

“They weren’t responsible for what the Reapers did, just as Cerberus wasn’t responsible for defeating them. You had no right to do this,” Miranda said coldly.

“No right?” Miriam spat back. “Fuck the Reapers. Once everything started to fall apart around here it was those monsters that you just set free who killed my little girl.” A tear ran down the dying woman’s cheek. “Shot her dead in the street like it was nothing. Those fucking aliens tore apart innocent humans in that riot just like they did to me. Maybe they brought the Reapers here, maybe they didn’t, but they deserved worse than what we gave them here.” Miriam coughed up more blood, her chin a red mess now. “There’s innocent people on this planet...children...and those alien fucks are gonna slaughter them after this. Those deaths are on you.”

“Like hell they are.” Miranda spat. “You brought this on yourselves.”

“You pieces of shit are about to get what you deserve,” Jack added. “I hope they burn this whole city to the ground. We’re gonna find the asshole in charge of this hell and when we do, I’m gonna tear Ford apart and kill Cerberus off once and for all.”

A grim rattle that might have been a laugh escaped Miriam’ throat. “You fucking idiots think you’ll get to Ford? As soon as you tripped the alarm every camera in this facility activated. You’re now the most wanted women on the planet. Every human on Typhon is gonna know your faces. Ford will destroy you both before you ever even reach the tower. That is...assuming you survive this…”

“Survive what?” Jack asked just as Miranda saw the guard slip an armed grenade out from her belt.

“I hope you burn.”

Miranda grabbed Jack’s shoulder and the two women sprinted down the hallway.  She knew they might not be outside of the blast radius though, and acting on instinct, she threw herself on top of Jack, even as the convict threw up a shield around them.  The explosion rocked the hall, charred remains raining down on the two women as Miranda held Jack close.

“Are you alright, Jack?” Miranda asked once the ringing in her ears had settled down.

“I’m good,” Jack replied, rolling Miranda off of her.

For a moment, the two of them just lay on the floor, both of them panting heavily.  Miranda really wished she didn’t have to get up just then. Her side hurt like hell, and the combination of blood loss and exertion were taking a heavy toll.  Unfortunately, a bloody deck in the middle of a war zone was no place to take a nap, and Miranda forced herself back to her feet, even as Jack did the same.

“Don’t worry, cheerleader,” Jack said, noticing the way Miranda winced as she rose, “I’ll get your bulbous ass out of here in one piece.”

Miranda only nodded, not willing to spare any more energy than she had to.  The pair made their way back through the prisoner intake office without incident and from there to the decontamination chamber.  There had been no fighting in those rooms, only open doors and a few trails of blood left behind by injured prisoners showing that anyone had passed through recently.

The exterior of the ship was a different story. When the two women stuck their heads out of the entry hatch, they saw that the Cerberus squad stationed outside of the Kennels was engaged with the first wave of prisoners who had tried to escape.  The guards hadn’t been positioned to hold off an attack from the rear, but they were still better armed and more disciplined than their enemies, and several alien corpses already littered the ground compared with only one of the Cerberus soldiers.  The remainder of the prisoners were huddled in the wreckage of the street’s buildings, under heavy fire that they were only intermittently able to return.

“Fuckin’ hot heads shoulda gone with the asari,” Jack growled, and in spite of her pain, Miranda had to suppress a laugh.  She’d lost track long ago of how many times the convict had nearly gotten herself killed by charging in without a clear strategy.

“At least they’re giving us that distraction you wanted,” Jack added. “Here’s the plan. We run and we don’t stop until we’re clear of these assholes.  And don’t worry about your barriers; I’ll shield you.”

“Are you sure?” Miranda asked, surprised by Jack’s willingness to put herself on the line for her.

“Yeah.  I mean, if you bleed out, who’s gonna help me kill Ford?”

Deciding not to question Jack’s real motives, Miranda followed the convict the rest of the way out of the ship and into the warzone in front of them.  At first, things went smoothly enough.  The prisoners were too pinned to worry about new arrivals, while the guards probably figured these humans had to be on their side.

That confusion kept them safe about halfway through the no-man’s land.  Even as the barricade’s exit point grew larger in their view, though, one of the guards yelled out, “Hey, it’s them! Those fucking traitorous bitches!” and he swung his rifle around in their direction.

“That’s right, you piece of shit,” Jack growled.  A blue glow enveloped her and before the guard could open fire, a ball of biotic energy slammed into his chest, hurling him to the ground.  A couple of his fellows took notice though, and seconds later, a hail of rifle fire was unleashed at the two women.

The glow around Jack expanded as the convict poured everything she had into her shield. The bullet impacts made her wince, but fortunately, the prisoners could recognize an opening when it was presented to them.  A few of them emerged from the wreckage, firing into the Cerberus position and drawing off some of their enemy’s attentions.

But not all.  Several guards were still shooting at them, and Miranda could see the sweat pouring down the back of Jack’s neck as she tried to hold back the fire. Her barriers were holding, but they still had too many meters to go.  The operative was stumbling by that point, the fatigue and blood loss starting to get to her, but she had to do something.  With a pained grunt, she summoned up one more warp, ducking out from behind Jack to hurl it into the nearest guard.  It wasn’t much of an attack though, and the man only stumbled backwards, even as Miranda fell to her knees from the strain.

Even some of the guards who’d been shooting at the prisoners took note of them now, firing into Jack’s barriers.  One of the bullets pierced the shield and grazed her arm, but instead of falling, the convict just let out a primal scream of rage.  The glow around her brightened and Miranda had to cover her eyes as a massive shockwave built around her.  For an instant, everything seemed to hang still and then the power burst forth.  Half of the barricade was knocked down, burying the guards who weren’t thrown entirely clear of the wreckage.

Jack turned around, her body shaking even as her eyes showed something that might have been concern. “Are you…”

Miranda gritted her teeth, forcing herself back to her feet.  “Not dead yet.  Now run.”

Through the shattered remains of the barricade, Miranda could see the the street they had first entered this hell from, and in spite of the pain every step cost, she felt a surge of hope as they ran through it and away from the battle.  They were far from out of danger, but at least this wasn’t where she was going to die.

Once they were safely out on the street, Jack looked around to check for any stray guards, but Miranda wasn’t able to help her.  Her head was growing unbearably heavy and everything in her field of vision was starting to blur together.

“Looks like we’re good for now, but I bet there’s more on the way,” Jack said, her back to Miranda as she spoke.

The operative pressed a hand to her stomach and winced at the flash of pain the pressure caused. Her shirt was now so thoroughly bloodied that it clung uncomfortably to her body.

 _Must have been deeper than I realized_ , she thought before her legs failed her once more. When Jack saw her fall, she whirled around, yelling out, “Shit!”

Miranda kept the pressure on as Jack knelt beside her. It was hard to talk so she just winced.  “Dammit, look at me.” Jack lightly slapped her face. “If anybody gets to kill you, cheerleader, it’s me.”

Before Miranda could think of something clever to say back, everything went dark.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, or whatever you celebrate in this winter solstice season. Here's a new chapter that we hope you'll enjoy.

Miranda’s entire body was beginning to grow numb but it was her breathing that really had her worried. Shock had begun to take hold of her and she’d seen enough injuries to know where that led. She was dying in the arms of a woman who had every reason to let her do it.

Her eyes fluttered open and closed, and when her senses returned, she had no way of knowing how much time had passed since her last lapse in consciousness.  This time, she found herself cradled in Jack’s surprisingly strong arms as she was dragged up a long-abandoned stairwell.

“Fuck, Cheerleader,” Jack cursed as her chest heaved with her exertions.  “Dammit, keep your eyes open.”

“Jack?” Miranda mumbled.

“That’s right, it’s me. Talk to me.  Tell me about your stupid sister, or your big Cerberus ass, or anything you want. Just keep talking.”

She couldn’t.  Everything went dark once more, and when her eyes opened again, it was to the image of Jack pulling her shirt up over her head.  She was staring down at the wound in Miranda’s stomach with wide, almost fearful eyes. The operative’s mind focused long enough to look down there herself. Her prominent abs were sliced down the middle by a blade wound deeper than she had realized.

“Must have… severed celiac artery,” Miranda mumbled. “Bleeding to death. Need...medi-gel to seal…” Her head rocked back and forth before she collapsed backwards into the softness of what seemed to be a couch.

“Miranda!” she heard Jack scream, but the sound was dim, as if coming from far away.

“I’m...I’m dying, Jack. Unless you can…” Miranda gasped for breath with a desperation that startled even her. “Need wound… sealed. Find medi-gel or-” She didn’t even manage to finish her sentence before she blacked out once more.

This time, she awoke in darkness. Her body was drenched in a cold sweat that mixed in with the blood that stained her torso, leaving her shaking from the chill.  Her ears were ringing and her vision was blurred, but once her eyes had adjusted, she was still able to make out the familiar sight of the abandoned office she and Jack had camped out in the night before. The sun had apparently set while she was passed out, the dust-covered windows that stretched the entire length of the room displaying the image of a bright, full moon.  She could hear the distant sounds of gunfire and explosions in the streets below, accompanied by the occasional flash of light.

“Jack?” Miranda cried out weakly as she struggled to sit up on the couch, wincing at the agony that her every motion brought. Her wound made a sickening, wet sound and Miranda looked down at her bare torso to see her ghostly pale flesh painted red. The cut was still open and a steady trickle of blood had pooled around her and seeped into the cushions of the couch.

There was no answer from the convict. Perhaps she had decided to leave Miranda for dead or perhaps she had gone for help. The operative wasn’t sure which possibility was more likely but one thing was for sure: she was alone.

It didn’t take Miranda long to start dwelling on the bleak future that awaited her if Jack didn’t return soon.  After everything she’d accomplished, all the sacrifices she’d made, and the crimes she’d committed, she’d bleed out alone on this god forsaken planet and be forgotten. In some ways it would be a mercy.

 __At least my final days were interesting._   _The thought comforted her slightly. It was better to die here, fighting, than to waste away in the Alliance’s cage or be lynched by her own people back on Earth.  Miranda looked down at her blood-stained hands.

_I suppose I got what I came here for._

Miranda wondered if this was how it felt for Shepard at the end.  These past few months, she had thought a great deal about the man. While she rotted away in her cell, she had tried to focus on her happier memories of their time together. Making love in the _Normandy ’_ s drive core, standing by his side when she finally found the strength to leave Cerberus. She thought about how he looked at her, how he kissed her, and of the moment he told her that he loved her. Nobody had ever said those words to her before. She doubted he truly understood how much they had meant.

As she sat there, alone and dying, she found her thoughts on Shepard turning to questions she’d vowed to stop asking herself long ago.

_Why did you leave? What changed? Did you love her more?_

_Did you ever actually love me, Shepard?_

The more she thought about the man, the more she realized how the hero of the galaxy had let her down. She had trusted him, loved him, and he had betrayed all of that.

“Dammit…” Miranda hissed. “Damn you, Shepard.”

Tears stung in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She didn’t know why she still bothered wasting her pain on Shepard anymore. Before she had met him, she used to tell herself that love didn’t truly exist. That it was merely an illusion created to bring about false hope, and justify lust. As she stared out the window at the full moon hanging over Typhon, Miranda feared she had been right.

She sniffed back more tears, burying her face in her palm, but suddenly the sound of a door  flying open her pulled her from her pain. Miranda gazed into the darkness as the sound of footsteps grew closer, preparing herself to come face to face with some blood thirsty non-human or a Cerberus soldier, but before she could see the face of the figure, they spoke.

“Miranda?” Jack called out as she came into view.

The operative quickly tried to wipe her tears away with the back of her hand as she turned her face away from the convict to hide them.

“Are you good?” Jack asked, her voice softer than Miranda had ever heard it before.

“Not dead yet,” she answered in what passed for an attempt at humor in her pathetic state. “Did you find…”

Before she could finish, Jack held up an applicator tube of medi-gel. “Bunch of dead Cerberus bastards out there now. Had to kill a few myself to get this, so you better not waste my time by dying on me now. Lay back.”

Miranda did as she was ordered and laid back onto the couch as Jack came over to her side. “You know how to…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know how it works.” Jack said as she began to clean the wound with a damp cloth she had apparently also salvaged.

With her life literally in Jack’s hands Miranda decided to do away with her stoicism for at least a moment. “Wasn’t sure you’d come back for me,” she admitted.

Jack’s eyes drifted to Miranda’s pale face but she said nothing.

“I’m sure I’ve given you plenty of reasons not to,” Miranda continued.

“The way I see it, we’re in this together.” Jack replied as she lined the applicator up with the edge of the open wound.

Miranda’s body tensed as the cold gel hit her tender flesh. The medi-gel stung terribly as it fizzled and closed the gaping injury in her stomach, but she gritted her teeth and bore it.  Pain was good.  It was the numbing that meant death was near.

“Besides, you got this covering my ass. You might be a bitch, cheerleader, but I won’t let another person die because of me.  Not even you.”

Miranda couldn’t fight back the tears in her eyes that time. “Thank you, Jack.” How many of the people she knew would’ve come back for her?  Hell, most of them would have stuck around just to watch her die. It was comforting to know there was at least one person who cared enough to keep her breathing, whatever her reasons.

“You’re...you’re different,” Jack suddenly said as she finished sealing the wound up.

“Different?”

“From what I remember, I mean. Got me thinking on the way up here that maybe...fuck, I don’t know, maybe I got you wrong back on the _Normandy_.”

Miranda shook her head. “You didn’t.”

“Maybe not.” Jack agreed. “But back in the prison, you…. Shit… I’m no good at crap like this. I guess what I want to say is, I know you’re not like the Cerberus assholes on this planet.”

Miranda could only offered a weak smile in response while the medi-gel’s painkillers began to course through her bloodstream.  The initial agony was passing, but now her head felt even heavier than before.

“I know I lost control back there,” Jack admitted as she tried her best to wash the blood off of Miranda’s torso with the wet cloth. “I almost got us killed… almost got you killed. I lost my shit and I shouldn’t have. I guess you were right before, about there being more to me signing up for this bullshit. The last few months have been fucked. I thought everything was supposed to get better after Shepard killed the Reapers but instead it’s just gone to shit.”

“Trust me, Jack, I know how you feel.”

“No.  You really don’t.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Miranda tried to keep the edge out of her voice.  As much pain as she was in, Jack had sounded worse somehow.  Flat and hollow.  Miranda knew that feeling all too well, but it was strange hearing it come from beneath the convict’s usual shield of rage and contempt.

Jack put down the now-red cloth and backed away, settling into a chair near the couch.  She looked smaller in the moonlight, and when she spoke again, it was surprisingly quiet.  “Why the hell not?  I mean, you already spilled your guts to me. You really wanna know why I volunteered for this shit show?”

“To get revenge on Cerberus?”  That’s what she’d assumed ever since the mission began, but Miranda was starting to suspect there was more to this story than she knew.  She was too woozy to put the pieces together herself, though, lightheaded from blood loss and the effects of the medi-gel.

Jack snorted.  “Yeah, they’re a bunch of fucking animals and they’ve gotta be stopped.  But they’re not why I came here to die.”

“To die?”

“I mean, you said it before, right?  We’re not coming back from this shit.  And maybe that’s what we deserve.”

“Hey,” Miranda objected.  “You helped us take down the Collectors.  To save the galaxy.  That has to pay whatever debts you think you owe.”

“The ones I had back then, maybe.  That shit was about survival at least…”  Her voice trailed off, and when she spoke again, it was filled with bitterness.  “I’ve got new ones now.  Guess I needed a new suicide mission to clear ‘em out.”

“What happened?”

“I got them killed, cheerleader.  All of them.”  Her anger was coming back to the surface.  Miranda wished Jack was furious at Cerberus, or the Collectors, or even at her.  But her rage was directed at herself, and somehow that was more terrifying.

“Who are we talking about, Jack?” she asked, afraid of what the answer was going to be.  

“Who do you think?”  Jack was screaming now, her voice almost deafening in the otherwise silent office building.  “The only people I had.  Those kids from Grissom who were dumb enough to trust me.  They’re all fucking dead and it’s my fault.”

“Jack…”  Without thinking about it, Miranda reached out and put her hand on the convict’s knee.  There was no objection to the gesture, and so she left it there.  “I at least know you well enough to know you’d have never wanted that.  Whatever happened to those students wasn’t your fault.”

“What does it matter what I wanted? I made my choice, and they’re all dead because of it.”  Jack fell silent for a moment, but then she seemed to realize that her story didn’t actually explain anything, because she continued.

“On Earth, we were assigned to this detachment of turian marines.  Real tough guys, or at least they thought they were.  We were supposed to hold the left flank of some ridge for a tank division that was covering the Alliance’s approach to that beam thing, but the Reapers… Christ, there were so many of them. The Ravagers broke the line, and then the Brutes started tearing the turians to pieces.  The kids wanted to head to the front, to try and bail out the turians and push the Reapers back.  I told them we’re just supposed to be doing support, but…”  

She bowed her head.  “They were so fucking stupid. They thought they could make a difference, that they could save the day.  But I was the one who said yes.  It was my call.  I let them charge into that hell knowing what would happen.  They put up a good fight… for a minute or two. Pretty soon the Reapers started to tear them apart.  Once they broke through their barriers... I couldn’t save them, couldn’t do anything but watch them die.  I killed more than I could count, but they just kept coming.”

Jack’s fists clenched tightly as she fell back in her seat. Miranda searched for something to say but came up empty and before long, the convict continued her tale.  “You ever actually look into someone's eyes when they died? Rodriguez was the last one to fall. She managed to take down a Brute but it got a chunk out of her too. When I tried to pull her into cover, her fucking guts were spilling all over me. I lied to her, told her she’d be okay, that she did good. It didn’t mean shit. She couldn’t even speak with all the blood she was puking up and all I could do was look into her eyes… she was so fucking scared, Miranda. No matter what I do, I can’t get the look on her face out of my head. The rest of the students...hell, I couldn’t even identify half of them afterwards. I was the last one left standing, but it was just a matter of time before they got me too. So I figured, what the hell? Wasn’t like I didn’t deserve it after all the shit I’d pulled... I wanted them to do it, to fucking end it for me. Seemed all poetic and shit.”

The pain had finally subsided enough for Miranda to sit back up. Her bleary vision had improved as well, giving her a clear view of the devastation on Jack’s face. “And then what happened?” she asked.

“Fucking Shepard happened.  Your goddamn ex-boy scout fired the Crucible and blew them all to hell.  Everything those kids died for… none of it mattered.  The ridges, the tanks, all of it didn’t mean a damn thing, because 5 minutes after my kids died for them, the war was over.”  Tears were streaming down Jack’s face, ugly, messy things that she’d been holding inside ever since that day.  “I should’ve protected them, Miranda. Or at least died with them. The least I can do is die here. I owe them that much.”

“You really believe that?” Miranda asked. “That they’d want you to get yourself killed here?”

“What’s it matter? It’s not like there’s anyone left who’d give a shit if I got what’s coming to me.”  

“That can’t be true.”

Unwilling to respond, Jack swivelled around in her chair, staring out the window at the night sky instead.  She said nothing but Miranda could tell she was listening for a change.

“What happened was the Reapers’ fault, not yours. And it wasn’t for nothing.  Whatever the logistics, your students died protecting the galaxy.”

“A lot of fucking good it did.  Look at this planet, cheerleader.  At all the messed up shit that’s happened here.  Does the galaxy seem saved to you?”

“We’re still alive, Jack.  That has to count for something.  Things might be terrible right now, but we have to believe they can get better someday.” Miranda realized the irony in her playing the voice of hope. She knew Jack’s pain all too well. After everything they had both fought for, this was where they had ended up.  And yet, she continued.  “I might not have known your students but if they cared about you like you cared about them, I know they’d want you to keep going.”

Jack suddenly rose to her feet. “Why the hell should I?” she demanded.  “What’s next for people like us, Miranda?  How do we get better?”

The urge to tell a comforting lie was there, but Jack deserved better than that from her.  “I don’t know.”

“That’s what I thought. There’s no happy ending for us, Miranda.  All that matters is finishing Cerberus. Nobody gives a shit if I make it out or not anyway.  I’ve been alone my whole damn life, and I was a fucking idiot to think I’d die any different.”

“You’re wrong.”  

Jack turned around, finally meeting Miranda’s eyes.  “I would care if you didn’t make it, Jack.” The convict stared her down, undoubtedly searching for the ulterior motive behind the operative’s words. “You’re not alone. Perhaps that should count for something.”  

After a long pause, Jack responded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, cheerleader, but I guess it does.”

For the briefest moment the two women shared a smile before Jack turned away once more.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to get an update on this one; for various reasons, I wasn't in the right head space to write it, Now, we're back, and updates should become more regular again.

The next morning started early. Miranda’s eyes were jolted open by the sound of an explosion in the streets below. The blast was large enough the shake the deserted office building, leaving a cloud of dust to fill the air in its wake. She propped herself up on the couch and immediately had to grit her teeth. The sealed wound across her stomach had healed somewhat thanks to her natural powers of recovery and the medi-gel, but not all the way.

A second and more violent explosion brought her to full alertness, though across the room Jack somehow remained fast asleep. She was draped over an office chair, her head hung, and Miranda took a moment to absorb the image. The biotic’s short hair had managed to get ruffled in her sleep and it draped down over her face, leaving only her nose and her full lips on display. A trickle of drool dripped from her partner’s lips and Miranda smirked. A few days ago, the sight would have disgusted her yet now she found it amusing.

Miranda dragged herself to her feet, thankful to find her balance had returned. She padded over to the sleeping biotic, standing over her as she remembered their exchange from the night before. That she was different than Jack had remembered. Miranda wondered if Jack knew that the same could be said about her.

She thought on Jack’s story, of the students that she couldn’t save as well as the woman’s suicidal motives for accepting this mission. Mostly, she thought about how when Miranda needed her most, Jack had been there to save her. The convict had done something for her that the man she once thought she loved never had. Something nobody had ever done for her. She came back for her.

Miranda took hold of Jack’s shoulders, gently shaking her awake, and when her pretty brown eyes drifted open, she mumbled a swear.

“Time to move, Jack.”

“Why?” Jack drawled sleepily. “Cerberus ain’t going anywhere.”

Instead of answering at once, Miranda moved to the office’s window and looked down into the street below. Typhon’s sun illuminated the pavement, giving her a clear view of the carnage. Dead bodies, both alien and human were strewn about amidst flaming debris and wreckage. Whether the corpses were a result of the two explosions she had just heard or remnants of an older battle, she couldn’t say but one thing was clear: Typhon was at war again.

Miranda turned around. “We shouldn’t stay in one place for too long.”

Jack let out a yawn as she stretched. “Yeah, you’re probably right. What’s the play then, cheerleader?”

“Find a place to restock on ammo, weapons, and food. Then we move onto Ford’s tower.”

“That place has gotta be locked up tighter than a turian’s ass. You know I’m all for the direct approach but…”

“I’m not suggesting we storm in through the bloody front door. But we’ll need to see what we’re dealing with before we formulate an infiltration plan. A little recon goes a long way, Jack. Besides, the tower appears to be several miles north of here.” Miranda kept her gaze lingering on the massive spire in the distance, dominating the cityscape. “Hopefully we’ll get a better idea of what we’re dealing with on the way.”

“You sure you’re good to move?”

Jack almost sounded concerned, and Miranda was more touched than she wanted to be. “I’ll manage.”

The biotic shrugged and rose to her feet. “Good.” She tugged at the bottom of her Cerberus uniform. “First thing we’re grabbing down there is a change of clothes. I ain’t wearin this shit any longer than I have to.”

Miranda looked down at herself. Her own disguise was smeared with blood and dirt, and the blade that had cut her had also torn a hole across the front, exposing her abs, along with the freshly sealed wound. “Agreed.”

***

It had taken Miranda longer than she was proud of to climb down the office building’s stairwell to street level. Her injury was still plenty sore but by the time she found herself back out in the sun, she could feel her strength returning to her.

_One of the few things I can thank my father for. Though I doubt he’d approve of the use I’m putting his gifts to._

While the fresh air was nice, the view was another matter. The streets of Typhon’s capital city were littered with the corpses of Cerberus and non-human forces alike. Dismembered limbs were scattered about next to the charred scars left in the street by explosives and colorful puddles of blood dotted the pavement.

Jack lowered her weapon after they completed their sweep of the area. “Looks like the aliens did a good job of clearing out these assholes for us.”

As Jack spoke, Miranda looked down at the body of an asari, a maiden by the look of her, with a soft face and teal skin. She gave the girl a gentle nudge with her boot to find the corpse already stiff. “Idiots,” she hissed under her breath. “They’d rather get themselves killed over revenge than escape this planet. We gave them a perfect opportunity to be free and instead they ran straight into a war with Cerberus.”

“Are you really surprised? After all the shit we’ve seen Cerberus put these people here through? You know the first thing I did when I got free from my cell on Pragia? I killed every Cerberus bastard I saw. They locked these people up like animals, forced them to fight for their entertainment, experimented on and tortured them... Fuck, it’s Teltin all over again, just bigger. I’d do the same damn thing. I just hope they saved some for us.”

Miranda gave her a wry smile. “Never fear, Jack. I imagine there will be plenty of Cerberus soldiers for you to fight.”

“You never did tell me what you know about this place.”

Miranda looked up to the large, tattered Cerberus banner dancing in the wind above the streets. “I’ve never actually been here before. Its main purpose was military experimentation and recruitment while I specialized in more… delicate projects. However, the Illusive Man talked about it a few times and occasionally, I was tasked with reviewing the developments coming out of the Typhon base.”

“And what kind of shit did they send you?”

“The kind of shit that’s better left forgotten,” Miranda answered bluntly. “What I don’t understand is, if the Alliance is truly worried about a major uprising here, then why haven’t we seen any Cerberus’ operatives yet?”

“The hell are you talking about? We saw a whole shitload of them back at that rally in the park, and in the prison.”

“We saw desperate civilians who were given a scapegoat for their anger and grief. Some of them may have been given guns and pressed into service, and maybe there were a few regular soldiers in the prison, but aside from Brother Givoni, I haven’t seen one genuine Cerberus operative since we touched down.”

“So maybe the navy got it wrong?” Jack gave a derisive snort. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

Miranda shook her head. “I don’t think so. Typhon would have had thousands of Cerberus troops stationed here when the Reapers invaded. While they might have lost a lot of their numbers in the war, Ford must have had enough left to pacify the public after it ended. There would’ve been a fair number of elite forces among that group.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that we’ve yet to discover Ford’s true threat. He spoke of re-taking Earth. The man I knew wasn’t deluded enough to think a few racist civilians, and a couple of divisions would be enough to overthrow the Alliance.”

Jack shrugged. “Whatever. We end Ford, none of it will matter.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. It’s possible that he’s the key to what’s happening here and that killing him will break Cerberus for good. But it’s also possible that he’s just a figurehead and that his death will change nothing.”

“Fuck.” Jack spat on the ground. “Shit’s never simple, is it?”

Miranda managed a rueful laugh. “No, I suppose not.  We can’t just smash everything that gets in our way… No matter much we might want to. I _do_ understand the appeal of violence, but if it’s not directed at the right target, it’s ineffective.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, yeah,” was what she said, but though her words were dismissive, Miranda couldn’t help but notice that they lacked the venom that she’d been so full of earlier on their mission. Clearly, Jack no longer felt the need to lash out at every word that came out of Miranda’s mouth.

_It must have helped her, telling me about what happened to her students. Good. A little rapport goes a long way in these sorts of situations._

But it was more than that, she admitted to herself as they continued through the shattered streets of the city. Maybe it had happened when Jack saved her life. Maybe it was earlier. Either way, she now _cared_ what the convict thought of her, not for any operational reason, but for its own sake. Once, she might have deemed that a weakness, but now…

_We’re probably going to die on this planet. Something that passes for, dare I say it, a friend wouldn’t be the worst thing to have with me._

***

When she first heard the noise, Miranda’s head whipped around, searching for the possible threat.  A second later, however, she realized that it was only a virtual presence addressing them. Several stories up, a large vid monitor attached to the side of a half-bombed out building had switched itself on and a familiar image appeared there, accompanied by a voice she’d already learned to hate.

“Ford.” Jack’s face twisted into a grimace as she too realized who it was.

“Brothers and sisters,” the Cerberus leader began, “Many times, I have warned you of the evil forces that conspire against us. Now, the day has arrived when their foul thoughts are being turned into action.  Agents of the treacherous Alliance have come to our home, seeking to destroy all that we are building here.  Striking from the shadows, they have murdered our brethren and freed some of the alien scum that infests our home. These are creatures who we, in our mercy, had allowed to live even while we kept them from infecting you, our people, with their filth.”

“Today, that compassion has been repaid with treachery. These Alliance saboteurs set loose a host that slime on the streets our fair city. Even now, our brave soldiers move to exterminate these criminals once and for all, but it is not only they who must be vigilant. Even once we have thwarted this scheme of theirs, the vipers of the Alliance will remain in our city, concocting new and fouler schemes against us.”

“Think he’s talking about us, cheerleader?” Jack had a smug smile on her face, clearly proud of having gotten Ford’s personal attention. Miranda, however, was more concerned than pleased. It was to be expected after Miriam’s last words, but she remained unhappy that their identities now appeared to be known to their enemy.

“Yes, but please be quiet for one second, Jack,” she replied. “I want to see what information he’s putting out there about us.”

“Two of these snakes have crept into our garden,” Ford said, his voice dripping with contempt. “And today, we shall show you their faces, so that you may know them. So that no matter what lies they tell, they will not hide from your righteous gazes. The first of them is a psychopath and a murderer, a woman known as Subject Zero, because she deserves no good, human name.”

“It’s Jack, asshole,” the convict hissed, while Ford continued to speak.

“She is a powerful biotic, and an unstable lunatic, who should be considered extremely dangerous. Do not hesitate to kill her if you have the opportunity, because she will no doubt attempt to kill you and all those whom you love. And yet, vicious though Subject Zero may be, the other woman with whom she travels may be even worse. Miranda Lawson may wear a comely face, but she is a traitor of the worst kind. A biotic as well, and a skilled operative who once served Cerberus. A woman given the trust of our leaders until she betrayed them. Until she threw in her lot with the quislings of the Alliance and helped to murder many of those who strove for humanity’s salvation.”

“She is no doubt the instigator of this sabotage, having turned the mind that once aided our noble work to evil purposes, and we must know their full extent. Destroy Subject Zero, but should you encounter Miranda Lawson, you are to capture her alive at all costs, so that we may know what further treachery she and her minions plan. I have no doubt that you are equal to this mighty task, because, though these may be trying times, with your aid, with our resolve, and with Cerberus’ strength, we will prevail. Blessings be upon you all.”

The image of Ford faded from the screen amidst stirring music, replaced with stills of Jack and Miranda taken from inside the prison, but even while Jack laughed, “Hey, at least they caught your good side, cheerleader,” Miranda could only wonder, _What the hell does Ford want with me?_

Jack dismissed the threat with a wave of her hand. “Screw ‘em.”

“It might not be wise to take the danger Ford poses so lightly,” Miranda advised.

“Look around you, cheerleader. This whole damn city is at war.” Jack gestured at a charred corpse laying in a nearby gutter. “They’ve hardly had time to hunt our asses down.  Besides, we’ve survived this long, haven’t we?”

Miranda managed a little half smile. “Optimism. Can’t say I was expecting that from you, Jack.”

“Yeah well… maybe we don’t make such a shitty team after all. Now let's go. If I have to spend another hour in this Cerberus get-up I’m gonna start kicking these bastard’s asses naked.”

***

It took them some time to locate a store that had not been picked entirely clean. The signs of battle grew fresher the closer they drew to the city’s center, the bodies of both alien and Cerberus forces more numerous. Miranda knew it would only be a matter of time before they found danger again but she was thankful for the unlikely breather. Her wound might have been sealed but the pain ensured she wasn’t at her best. She recognized that she was relying on Jack’s protection to a certain extent. Two days earlier, the thought would have shamed her beyond measure, yet now it was oddly comforting.

Their fortunes finally turned when they stumbled across a general supply store that hadn’t been completely looted. Jack created an entrance by smashing the large storefront window with a chunk of charred debris and when the duo stepped inside, they found the shelves still in neat rows instead of scattered on the floor as they had been elsewhere.

They wasted no time ransacking the place for food. The boxes of cereal they found were stale but edible and the two women devoured them dry as they sat on the floor of the abandoned aisle.

With her belly full, Miranda found her attention fixed on Jack once more for reasons she couldn’t explain, though thankfully, the biotic was still shoving fistfulls of cereal into her mouth and hadn't noticed.

“So, think they’ll have any catsuits in your size?” Jack teased when she finally took a break in her eating.

“One can only hope,” Miranda answered with a smile.

Jack set down the now-empty box. “Look, I know things got a little heavy last night. I didn’t mean to be such a pussy.”

“Please, don’t apologize.”

“I was just thinking, I showed you mine, right? So… why are you here?”

Miranda looked down at the cereal box in her hands. “You already know. The admiral gave me a deal. End Cerberus and clear my name.”

Jack shot her a skeptical look.  “Yeah, but… do you really think that people back on Earth are gonna suddenly wise up if you put Ford in a hole?”

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know. But it’s the only chance I have left.” Miranda hung her head. “Perhaps I deserve their hate. It’s not as if all my operations with Cerberus were as noble as my work on the _Normandy_. I did do...regrettable things for the Illusive Man.”

Jack shrugged. “So you told me. But maybe you were right. Maybe people can change.”

“I hope so.” _For both our sakes._

The convict rose to her feet and tugged on the collar of her Cerberus uniform.  “Let’s get out of these.”

“I suppose now that our faces have been plastered all over planet, there’s no reason to blend in any longer.” Miranda began down the aisle before a sudden compulsion stopped her. “Jack…”

The biotic turned around, leaning on a half-empty shelf of laundry detergent. “What’s up?”

“I’m glad you’re here. I wouldn’t have been able to do this alone.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed before she waved her hand dismissively. “Yeah, yeah. I know we did all that talking crap, but don’t start going all soft on me, cheerleader. We still got places to be, people to kill.”

With that, Jack disappeared around the corner at the end of the aisle. Miranda followed after her, finding the younger woman standing amongst the racks of clothes in the abandoned department store’s women’s section. Some of the outfits were laid in crumpled heaps next to overturned racks, signs of a previous looter’s presence. Fortunately, there was still a selection of grey tank tops that Jack quickly snatched up. She kept one for herself and threw another at her partner while she continued her search for more clothes.

Miranda caught the top and looked down at her ruined outfit once more. Blood, dirt and sweat had ensured she’d need an entirely fresh wardrobe. A pit in her stomach formed when she relived the last time she had tried to squeeze herself into pants in front of Jack but as luck would have it, she came across a pair of form-fitting black pants that were made from a similar material to her catsuit. She had always favored the garment for it’s ability to adapt to her unique curves.

“You find something you can fit your ass in, cheerleader?” Jack teased her from across the room.

For once, the urge to return the insult wasn’t there. “Hopefully,” Miranda answered with a chuckle before she grabbed a nearby tank top and the black leather jacket that hung on the rack in front of her. With her outfit assembled she looked back up to Jack to continue their banter, but when she did, her words caught in her throat.

Jack stood in plain view as she reached down and pulled the Cerberus-branded shirt over her head. She wore no bra underneath, which left her pert, tattooed breasts on display. Miranda suddenly found herself taking notice of Jack’s prominent nipples and the hardened muscle of her abs. Her hands tightened on the clothes she held as Jack kicked out of her boots and stepped out of her pants as well, leaving her in only a pair of simple underwear.

It wasn’t the first time Miranda had seen Jack naked that week. The last time they had changed into their disguises, Jack had wasted no time stripping down in front of Miranda either. However something was different now and Miranda couldn’t place it. For reasons unknown, her cheeks burned and her head felt light. When Jack pulled the panties down her legs, exposing the rest of her naked body, Miranda’s breath caught in her throat.

Jack’s tattoos covered her legs in a colorful, symmetrical web, save for a small patch of dark hair above her sex, while her right thigh was marked with a long scar Miranda guessed came from a knife or a turian’s claw. When her eyes traveled from between Jack’s legs up to her face Miranda’s blood ran cold. Jack’s eyes had caught hers. For once, though, the convict said nothing. Instead, she just stared at her for a moment with one eyebrow raised in what Miranda assumed was confusion or perhaps something more.

Miranda cleared her throat while Jack pulled a fresh pair of underwear up her legs. “Why don’t you search the corpses outside for unspent thermal clips while I get dressed?”

Jack grunted, “Uh huh,” as she changed into the rest of her new outfit. She now wore a pair of jeans, her boots, and the grey tank top, which was tight enough for Miranda’s cheeks to burn once more. Only once Jack had marched outside to loot the bodies did she make an effort to release the tension in her chest, letting out a long sigh.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

She didn’t understand what had just occurred but the feeling between her legs was both unmistakable and confusing. Miranda shook her head in an effort to clear it as she began to change into her scavenged clothes. The form fitting pants were far more comfortable than her prior disguise and the black leather jacket did a good job of covering up what her tanktop barely hid. She left the jacket open as she attached her holster to her hip.

_Get ahold of yourself, dammit._

No matter how hard she tried, though, the sudden and unwelcome feelings wouldn’t dull. She looked out the storefront window and when she saw Jack waiting for her, Miranda took another deep breath.

_Shit, this is not good._


	12. Chapter 12

Getting out of her blood-stained rags and into fresh clothes should’ve gone further towards improving Miranda’s mood, but as she stepped back out into the bright sunlight of Typhoon’s afternoon, her thoughts were still troubled. Even the fact that the pain in her side was down to a dull ache wasn’t enough to banish the unease she felt at what had just passed between her and Jack.

“You good there, cheerleader?” the convict asked, and Miranda could hear some of the same disquiet in her voice. _Not that I blame her. What the hell was I thinking, staring at her like that?_

“Fine,” she said, trying to keep her answer brief without being rude. Whatever that strange moment had been, this was hardly the time to dwell on it. She ignored the unwelcome urge inside herself and cleared her throat.  “We should get moving again. The prison break gives us a distraction, but it may not last forever.”

“Yeah, sure,” Jack replied. She wasn’t making eye contact, instead looking off at what remained of the city’s skyline. “Least this asshole shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Miranda joined her in looking up at the massive tower where Ford was supposed to be holed up. It was still some distance away, but indeed, getting lost along the way wouldn’t be a problem.  Getting inside on the other hand… But that was a problem for when they reached their destination. First, they had to survive the trip.

There was an eerie silence as they walked through the streets, a contrast to the totalitarian cheer they had encountered on previous days. Whatever people might’ve lived in this part of the city had either been evacuated or were hiding from the chaos she and Jack had let loose. Nor did either of them seem to feel like speaking.

The commercial district soon gave way to a residential one. Though the houses had the slightly tacky look of colonial prefab construction, they were larger than most, and Miranda could tell that once upon a time, this had been an upscale part of the city, home to representatives of major corporations, high-ranking officials, and other persons of note. Now, though, it lay in ruins. Craters and scorch marks indicated that a battle had been waged through these streets, and most of the houses were little more than a collection of free-standing walls, unfit for human habitation.

“Guess money doesn’t do you much good when the Reapers show up,” Jack said suddenly.

“No,” Miranda agreed. “I suppose not.” Indeed, she had lost count of how many associates from her old life as a daughter of the best society had been killed after Earth was invaded. Most, she had not seen in years and cared little for, but it was somehow still shocking that their world of wealth and privilege had crumbled so swiftly and completely. Typhon, it seemed, was no different.

As they walked down the street, the damage became less extensive, but though there were more houses standing, no one emerged from them to greet or challenge the pair. At last, they reached a park, smaller than the one Ford’s public execution had been staged in, but still decorated in those strange, quasi-religious Cerberus designs. Or at least it had been. Here, it seemed that the fighting had been more recent. Banners that must have been put up after the Reaper attack had been torn back down, while benches had been smashed to pieces and grass ripped up.

“Looks like we missed the party, cheerleader,” Jack commented with a wry smile as they moved towards the center of the park.

“So it seems.” Miranda’s hand fell to the pistol holstered at her hip. No telling if a few guests might have lingered.

Jack stopped before a grand mural that had been painted on the side of an apartment complex. The golden Cerberus logo was hardly visible behind the red words scrawled in various alien languages. Miranda recognized the turian and asari scripts immediately; they might have been written in different languages but their messages were the same.

“You know what this crap says, right?”

“Exactly what you think it does.” Miranda’s voice was hollow.

Jack crossed her arms. “What’s up with you? You act like all this is a bad thing.” She gestured to the destruction. “Fuck Cerberus, remember?”

Miranda’s gaze turned to the body of a human man laying face down in the grass, two hole in his back. “I just can’t shake the feeling we traded one devil for another.”

“If it gets us to Ford, who gives a shit what they do? Let ‘em burn it all.”

“The galaxy was able to stop the Reapers because we put our differences aside for once and worked together. With everything we’re seeing… it’s like we learned nothing. We stumbled from one war into another without even missing a beat.”

Jack rolled her eyes. “We’re here to kill someone, Miranda, not fix the fucking galaxy.”

“Without Cerberus, what do you think will happen to the humans left on this planet?”

“The hell do I care? That’s not our problem. If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately, it’s that nobody on this rock is worth saving.”

Miranda turned to face her partner. She wanted to disagree but that was more on principle than anything else.  Honestly, Jack might be right. As she tried to form any sort of response she found her attention was focusing away from the whole issue and instead settling on the convict’s big, brown eyes.

_Dammit._

Suddenly a gunshot cut through the eerie silence, saving Miranda from the distraction. Her attention snapped in the direction of the sound, no more than a few blocks away.

Jack un-holstered her weapon. “Maybe we didn’t miss all the fun after all. Should we check it out?”

She shrugged. “It could be relevant.”

Tracking down the source of the gunshot proved easy when it was followed by five identical blasts. They led the pair into what used to be an outdoor concert venue at one end of the park, and Miranda and Jack ducked down behind the first row of seats in the pavilion when they found their source.

A group of a dozen or so humans were corralled into a tight circle like cattle in the center of the stage. Miranda scanned their terrified, tear-stained faces and found only women and children still alive, all of them dressed in Cerberus colors. Laying face down in growing puddles of blood were the bodies of five men, massive gunshot wounds in the back of their heads.

Surrounding the humans was a group of six, heavily armed aliens. Four turians stood with Cerberus-issue assault rifles aimed at the crowd while a krogan loomed beside an asari with an Omni-Blade glowing on her wrist.

“Who’s next?” the asari asked her captives.

“Please!” one of the humans cried. “Just let us go. We didn’t do anything to you”

“Your fate is in your hands, you pieces of human trash,” a turian replied, contempt evident in the way his mandibles twitched. “If anyone wants to tell us about the military deployments in this area, they just might live. Otherwise, we’ll have to make a few more examples.”  He gestured with his rifle in the direction of the corpses, and the surviving humans began whimpering and sobbing.

Miranda ducked back down behind the row of seat as Jack did the same. She saw the conflict flicker across Jack’s gorgeous, brown eyes. “Six hostiles,” Miranda pointed out. “We could just let it go. Do we really need the trouble?”

She suspected Jack knew exactly what she was doing. A part of her felt guilting testing the convict like this, but she needed to know, one way or the other, if she was really as callous as she’d seemed earlier.

“Maybe one of them knows how to get us into Ford’s tower,” Jack whispered.

“Doubtful. They look like civilians in spite of the clothes.”

Jack tightened a fist and sat in silent thought before peeking her head back over their cover. She watched as one of the turians snatched a young woman by the hair and dragged her to her feet.

“How ‘bout you, human? You feel like talking?”. The young woman could only cry out in fear. Her terror seemed to amuse the turian, but before he or anyone else could speak again, another voice cut in.

“They don’t know anything, you dumb fucks!”

Six pairs of alien eyes whipped in a single direction just as Miranda’s did the same. Much to her surprise, Jack had stood up straight, and she had pistol trained on the aliens, while a blue crackle of biotic energy lit up the air around her. Miranda did the same, though she avoided aiming at anyone in particular. Maybe this didn’t have to turn into into another slaughter.

“More Cerberus scum!” the same turian growled, levelling his assault rifle.

“Septimias, wait.” One of his fellows put a hand on the gun barrel before he could fire. “Don’t you recognize them?”

“They all look the same to me,” Septimias declared with a derisive snort.  “Ugly, squishy, and better off dead.”

“No, you idiot.” Now it was the asari who spoke. Irritation was clear on a light blue face that might have been pretty if it wasn’t smeared in blood. “They’re the ones from the prison, who started the break-out. Can’t you see it?”

Septimias squinted. “Heh, I think you’re right. Thanks for that. So, what do you two want now?”

Before Miranda could decide on the best way to answer that question, Jack spoke. “For you assholes to stop shooting a bunch of civies who don’t know shit about shit. Nobody hates Cerberus more than me, but do you really think some little girl knows what Ford is planning?”

“Well, then I guess we don’t need them for anything, do we?” the krogan rumbled. He raised his shotgun, pointing it in the direction of the children, and then everything seemed to happen at once.

The biotic energy that had been gathering around Jack snapped outward, and a massive shockwave flew from her towards the aliens.  The krogan and three of the turians were all hurled from their feet as if they were made of cardboard, but even as they fell the other one swung his assault rifle up, opening fire on them. The asari meanwhile was screaming, “Stop it, you idiots,” but no one was listening to her.

Jack’s barriers absorbed the first burst from the turian without letting any shots through, and on reflex, Miranda put two bullets into his head before he could let off a second one. She hadn’t been sure she wanted this to turn into a battle, but Jack had made a choice, and Miranda wouldn’t leave her to see it through alone.

One of the other turians had recovered his bearings sufficiently to return fire, and when the shots raked across her barriers, Miranda winced at the impacts. She wasn’t the biotic that Jack was, but her shields were at least sufficient to get her back behind the chairs with her hide intact.

Up on the stage, everything was in chaos. Some of the humans were running for their lives, some stood paralyzed by fear, and a couple dove on the weapons that had been dropped by the fallen turians.

The newly-armed civilians opened fired on their erstwhile attackers, unleashing a hail of gunfire on a turian who just managed to recover his bearings. The alien was torn to ribbons instantly, spraying blue blood all over the krogan, who had finally gotten back on his feet as well. The civilians shot what remained of their clips into the large beast, which only succeeding in sending the krogan into a blood rage. He smashed into the crowd, tossing humans aside with terrifying ease, but his rampage was cut short when Miranda sunk a well placed shot into the stiff ridge of his head. The beast wasn’t stopped though, leaping off the stage and charging at her with a blood-curdling battle cry.

Miranda let loose a rapid series of shots that hit her target dead in the center of his chest, but she still found herself pacing backwards as her sixth round impacted on the seemingly undeterred krogan. Her heart raced in her chest as she pulled the trigger on the seventh and final shot in her thermal clip.

The bullet hit the krogan right between his eyes and sent his brains erupting out of the top of his thick skull. His body collapsed forward, landing just three feet from Miranda. Once she caught her breath, she looked up in time to see Jack’s biotics hurling the asari into the concert hall’s backdrop with enough force to stop a speeding train. The woman landed with a bloody explosion as she was pancaked on the wall.

With the aliens dead, Jack’s body ceased to glow blue and she lowered her weapon. Yet before she or Miranda could open their mouths to speak, two of the Cerberus civilians turned their guns on them.

“It’s her!” The dark haired woman aimed her shotgun at Miranda. “The one the savior needs!”

“Miranda Lawson and Subject Zero.” The other armed civilian confirmed their identities. “The traitors.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Jack spat. “We just saved your dumb asses!”

Miranda kept her gun trained on the armed women. “It’s in your best interests to lower your weapons. As my friend said, we just rescued you.”

“We… we should take them back to Father Ford,” the woman said, but there was a hesitancy in her voice now.

“The savior only wants this Lawson person…”

The other woman turned her aim to Jack but then one of the other civilians on stage cried out, “Drop your guns!”

Miranda’s attention turned to the young woman with red hair who just a few moment prior had been snatched up by the turian, whose gun was now aimed at her own people. “I said drop it!”

“Are you crazy?” the fanatical woman in her crosshairs spat. “Ford said…”

“Ford didn’t save us, they did. Screw what he says, drop your gun or else!”

“Or else what?” the woman snarled, before her knee exploded in a spray of gore.

Smoke was rising from the barrel of Jack’s pistol. “You were warned. Next one blows your Cerberus brains out.”

Miranda shifted her aim even as the other once-armed civilian dropped her gun and backed away with her hands up. “Hey, no need for that. We can be reasonable.”

“So I see,” Miranda smirked. The other members of the crowd raised their hands as well, and Miranda was stunned to see Jack lower her weapon in response.

The redhead stepped forward to address her rescuer. “You’re after Ford? Why?”

“Alliance business,” Miranda answered non-committally.

“The Alliance abandoned us!” one of the members of the crowd cried.

Jack snorted. “The navy didn’t abandon shit. They thought the Reapers wiped the whole colony out.”

“Cerberus attempted to stop Commander Shepard from destroying the Reapers. The Illusive Man was one of their puppets, and Anthony Ford is no savior,” Miranda explained. “You’ve been manipulated.”

“Not all of us,” the redhead answered. “Sure, it might have been easier to put on this stupid outfit once Cerberus started to take over, but I never believed a word that came out of that crazy old man’s mouth.”

“Me either,” another member of the crowd piped up and a few more voices joined in agreement. Miranda wasn’t sure if she believed them, or if they were merely going along with what now seemed to be convenient. Either way, though, they seemed unlikely to try and shoot her and Jack for the time being.

“The Alliance sent you to save us?” someone from the crowd asked.

“Something like that.” _Save you from Cerberus anyway. I doubt they give a damn about what the alien prisoners do._

“There’s children here... families. This war between Cerberus and the aliens has to stop before it kills us all,” the redhead said. “The Alliance has to send aid!”

“We’re all the support you’re getting,” Jack told her as she came up beside Miranda. “I know you guys have your problems, but the whole galaxy has gone to shit. They don’t have anything to spare.”

The redhead’s face fell and Miranda added, “But we’re not going anywhere until this is finished. So, please, what can you tells us about Ford?”

“Just that he never leaves that tower. Rumor is that he stays on the top floor, but I’ve never been there. None of us has. That placed of his is locked up tight, guarded by all kinds of stuff.”

“What kind of security are we talking about?”

“Mechs. A couple Atlas suits. And a lot of troops.  Not like the ones you find out here in the outer city either.”

Miranda raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“They’re...odd. Don’t know how to explain it but something is going on in that tower. Sorry, but there’s not much more we can offer.”

Miranda holstered her weapon. “Thank you. You’ve given us plenty.” _Those special troops could be some kind of Reaper alters. That did seem to be the Illusive Man’s favorite hobby; turning human beings into monsters._

“No, thank you. If you two hadn’t showed up, we’d all be dead.”

After a nod, Miranda made for the exit to the park and Jack closely followed behind her. “What was that you were saying before?” she asked the biotic, a teasing note in her voice. She only got an annoyed huff in response, and Miranda continued, more sincere now, “I’m impressed, Jack. There was hardly a moment's hesitation before you risked your life to save those people.”

Jack shrugged. “I didn’t risk anything. Those idiots couldn’t keep up with me.”

“Perhaps not. Still...it was brave, heroic even.”

“Yeah, you can bake me a cake after we kill Ford. Until then, let’s cut the shit,” Jack said.

Her words, though, were accompanied with a nervous laugh, and Miranda couldn’t help but notice the way her heart fluttered at the sound. Her eyes fell to Jack’s lips, and from there, they began following the muscles of her tattooed arms down towards her hands.

_Stop._

Miranda looked forward once more. In the distance, Ford’s tower still loomed over them. The sun rose behind the spire, casting a long shadow over the city. She told herself to concentrate on the mission. Indulging this foolish urge would get them both killed. She’d never had feelings like this for the other woman and they were as confusing as they were inopportune. Yet despite it all, Miranda couldn’t help herself. Foolish as it might be, this feeling was the closest thing to happiness Miranda had found in months.

In that moment, in the middle of a war torn city street with the bodies of humans and aliens strewn about, with the stench of blood and battle thick in the air, with the odds of their survival distressingly long, Miranda Lawson smiled. However, her expression vanished a moment later when she reminded herself that Jack would never feel the same way.

_Or would she? There’ve been moments, haven’t there?_

Before Miranda could think on it more, a sudden boom cut through the air. A massive fireball erupted just a few blocks north of them and a thick cloud of black smoke plumed into the air. Jack and Miranda froze in their tracks, their ears ringing from the blast as a small fleet of troop shuttles soared through the blinding smoke. The city-wide comm sprang to life once more and Miranda heard the same voice she’d quickly come to despise. The voice of Anthony Ford.

“The alien menace in our city has chosen to repay our mercy with war and violence. The time has come for our response. For too long we’ve tolerated the snakes in our Eden. Soon Cerberus will take back our home, and every one of you has a part to play. Cleanse our city and bring me Miranda Lawson. Together we will ensure humanity rises to it’s rightful place in the galaxy. Divided we will fall into an abyss from which there will be no return. Make your choice.”


	13. Chapter 13

“So,” Jack asked, turning her head towards the column of smoke and the small fleet of transports hovering in the distance, “Do you think we ought to look into that shit?”

Miranda sighed. Every time she thought their mission was back on track, something else cropped up. “I hate to get diverted, but probably. We need to know what Ford is up to, and  perhaps get more information about the inner city forces those civilians mentioned.”

“All right then.” Jack nodded and then gave her a shrug. “At least we’ll probably get to kick some Cerberus ass while we’re at it.”

In spite of her words, Miranda didn’t hear the usual bloodlust behind them. It almost seemed more like Jack had said that because it was expected of her. It seemed that this planet served up enough horror to quench even the most bloodthirsty appetite. 

The two of them made their way north, guided through the streets by the fire and smoke. Soon enough, these were joined by the sounds of gunfire and screams, and as they rounded an abandoned hardware story, Miranda got her first look at their source. She quickly pulled Jack behind the burned-out husk of a long destroyed skycar. Careful to not give their position away, Miranda peeked her head around the rusted metal. 

Numerically, the two sides shooting it out in the streets appeared to be fairly well-matched, with about 15 to 20 fighters on each side, but that was where the similarities ended. The aliens were a rag-tag crew much like the one they’d seen before; a collection of different species armed with the weapons they’d managed to loot. Some of the asari in the improvised army wore suits of Cerberus armor, but the rest had only clothing for protection. A small percentage of the non-humans seemed to have military training, but the majority of them were just operating on rage, and their overall organization was haphazard at best.

The Cerberus forces were a very different story. Well-armed and armored, they were arrayed across the street in a sensible formation, laying down a withering fire on their enemies. They reminded Miranda of the Cerberus forces she’d fought against during the Reaper War; heavy assault troops with a few Nemesis snipers on the flanks, not the militia they’d seen before.

“Well fuck,” Jack whispered. “Looks like we pissed Ford off enough to send in his real troops instead of the dumbasses we’ve been cleaning up ‘til now.”

Miranda’s side still had a dull ache where she’d been stabbed, reminding her that not everyone they’d faced had been so soft, but she still couldn’t disagree. This was definitely a level of force Cerberus hadn’t deployed before. Judging by the bodies she saw scattered on the ground, the aliens had started out with a numerical advantage, but were now losing it, with many of their remaining fighters already injured and bleeding.

Yet just when all seemed hopeless for the alien rebels, Miranda heard a loud war cry thunder through the air. She snapped her attention to what appeared to be an old courthouse set directly in the center of the battlefield. A flood of a dozen or so turians and krogan charged out with weapons in hand. What they lacked in organization they made up with in firepower and enthusiasm. The Cerberus troops turned to greet this new threat but quickly found themselves overwhelmed. As the last of them fell dead to the concrete, the surviving force of about twenty aliens let out a victory cry.

Jack actually managed to sound impressed. “Guess they’re not so hopeless after all.”

Miranda nodded. “Perhaps this rebellion might actually have a chance.”

Suddenly the sound of thrusters hit their ears and the celebrating alien soldiers turned their attention to the sky, where three heavily armored shuttles now hovered above the battlefield. The non-humans didn’t waste time opening fire on the Cerberus transports but the doors to the shuttles still slid open despite being a good 25 feet off the ground. What followed made what little hope Miranda had gained die a quick death. 

A squad of troops leapt from the shuttles with unnerving coordination. The first trio of the reinforcements hit the ground at nearly the exact same time, landing with a loud thump just as a second and third waves followed them. When the troops had finished off-loading, a fresh squad of nine stood in formation before the alien rebels who ran for cover while reloading their weapons.

The difference between the usual Cerberus fighters and these new arrivals was immediately apparent. The soldiers were dressed in matching suits of bulky, black armor and even without them, Miranda wagered the men or women inside stood at a minimum of 6’5. Their faces hid behind helmets that sported tinted visors that stretched across most of their upper face. In their hands, Miranda saw large, menacing assault rifles that almost appeared fit to be mounted on turrets.

The aliens snapped out of their stunned trances and opened fire. Miranda expected or perhaps hoped to see the combined fire of the twenty aliens tear the nine Cerberus troops to shreds but instead, the front line of the Cerberus squad outstretched one hand each as the tell-tale blue glow of biotics surrounded them. Bullets ricocheted off the surprisingly strong barriers and Miranda barely saw the shield waver before the alien’s assault ceased.

The non-humans looked to each other in silent terror just as the soldiers retaliated. Some of them unloaded their rifles on the exposed aliens while others struck with powerful biotic attacks that produced a series of high-energy explosions in their enemy’s ranks.

Miranda’s eyes widened as she watched the bulk of the alien force being torn apart in seconds. Beside her, Jack gritted her teeth as a pair of krogan were lifted into the air by the trooper’s biotics before being torn in half. The surviving aliens ducked behind cover and opened fire once again but any fool could see how hopeless it was.

Jack’s body glowed blue but just as the convict prepared to jump to the aid of the surviving aliens, Miranda pulled her back into cover. “Not this time, Jack,” she whispered. 

The convict looked like she wanted to object but after she gave one more look at the battle the biotic field around her dissipated. “Then what?”

Miranda pointed to a large, neoclassical building across the street with marble columns and a wide staircase leading up to it’s entrance. “We need to get off the street where the shuttle pilots can see us and wait for them to move on.” 

“Fuck that. I’m still in charge here right? We don’t pussy out of a fight with Cerberus.” 

“Look at that.” Miranda pointed back to the battle as one of the troopers took off the head of a turian running for cover with a blast from his rifle. “Ford is the mission, not saving these idiots. They are choosing  to get themselves killed. I’d like to think you’re smarter than that. We still don’t know what we’re up against here, and it’s clearly very dangerous.”

Jack let out a groan. “Fine.” 

“Follow me and keep low.” Miranda turned back to the battle and found the troopers’ attention was still fixated on eradicating the few aliens who remained standing. 

With Jack following close behind, she ran through the open street, thankfully not drawing any fire at first. However, once they had made their way halfway up the marble stairs, their luck ran out. Miranda jumped back as a round soared through the air just in front of her face. She spun around to see that two of the troopers had broken away from the pack while the rest finished mopping up the non-humans. 

Jack’s biotics flared up again but before she could strike, Miranda grabbed her by the hand and dragged her into the cover of the building. A tattered, red banner stretched over the lobby:  _ Typhon Historical Society and Archives _ .

“Two we can probably handle,” she hissed by way of explanation, “But if we fight them out there, the rest will join in and nine at once seems like a bit much.”

“I wanna know who those freaks are,” Jack snapped, “Because that back there was brutal.”

She shook her head. “They’re nothing I’ve seen before, but clearly they’re biotics. Beyond that, it’s hard to say. We can worry about it after we kill them.”

“Fair enough,” Jack agreed with a laugh.

A quick scan of the room suggested that the best place from which to make their stand was the solid-looking reception desk and the two of the scampered across the faux marble floor and took cover behind it. As they waited for the troopers to follow, Miranda’s mind raced. Whatever these things were, they were clearly formidable. Biotics, yes, but beyond that, they had advanced combat training at the very least. Probably gene therapy and other treatments to achieve such an impressive stature as well. Typhoon had been a troop training facility and these elite troops were clearly the best products of that work that Ford had to offer.

Seconds later, two of those products kicked open the door to the archives, storming inside in unison. Talking was not on their mind. The pair came in guns blazing, their heavy assault rifles spraying down the lobby even before they bothered to look for their targets. Several of the rounds embedded themselves in the desk, but mercifully it was thick enough to shield them, at least for now.

Once the hail of fire had moved past their position, Jack leapt up from behind the desk, her biotics flaring bright. A massive shockwave flew from her hand and impacted into the two Cerberus soldiers, but they weren’t going to be taken out as easily as most of her targets. The blue of their own barriers crackled into being, and though they were pushed backwards, they weren’t felled.

Miranda followed her partner’s lead, opening fire on the Cerberus soldiers with her pistol. Several of her shots struck home, but even the ones that penetrated the barriers only impacted on the heavy combat armor the biotics wore, not eliciting any visible signs of pain.

She didn’t get a chance to strike again. Now that their enemies knew their location, they wasted no time in responding. One of them raised his hand and a powerful biotic field ripped away the front of the desk while the other concentrated his fire on the two women who had sheltered behind it.

Miranda winced as the bullets impacted against her and Jack’s combined barriers. Their shields were potent, but the power of the weapons was still enough to make her strain with the effort of keeping them up. She didn’t want to have to do it for long, and so she dove to the left to escape the line of fire, even as Jack scurried to the right.

The gunner chose to focus on Jack, while his partner turned towards her. A second biotic blast flew at Miranda, but this time she was ready for it. A warp of her own met his attack and when their powers collided, the air glittered with a shower of sparks. Miranda managed to follow up a split second faster than her attacker, putting three more shots from her pistol into his chestplate. They barely staggered him though, and she was forced to retreat once more when he returned fire with his heavy rifle.

The rounds from the trooper’s rifle ripped through the marble support column to Miranda’s right as she ran for cover. Sensing that her opponent couldn’t be avoided for long, Miranda dropped to the ground. The bullets flew over her head in a loud, constant barrage. She braced herself on the tiled floor with one hand as her other glowed bright blue. Her entire body went numb as she let out the fiercest biotic strike she could muster. The warp soared across the lobby, and the trooper tossed his rifle aside and braced himself. Just as the strike was about to connect, he fired off a counterattack with both hands, and the ensuing biotic explosion sent both Miranda and Jack flying through the air. 

Miranda spiraled to the ground, her pistol flying from her hand before her body collided with a display case housing a series of holos. She looked from the glass-littered floor and saw the two troopers still standing; strong as ever.

Jack had landed not far from her. The biotic spit a glob of blood to the ground and looked to her partner. “Fuck this,” she snarled and her fist primed up again, an animalistic rage in her glowing eyes. 

The pair of troopers didn’t underestimate her, bracing themselves for Jack’s response. The convict let out a loud scream as she unleashed hell. The flare hit its mark and the bright eruption of power forced Miranda to shut her eyes. The shock wave from the blast shattered the remaining glass in the lobby as the two troopers were finally thrown from their feet in spite of their readiness.

Miranda scrambled back up but before their Cerberus opponents could regain their own footing Jack struck again. Miranda watched in awe as she lashed out at the marble support column the troopers had already nearly cut in two with their rifles. A strong field manifested around the column and in one fell swoop, Jack ripped it from its base and brought it down on her enemies. One of the troopers managed to roll away, but the other was not so lucky. The heavy slab of marble crushed the armored biotic, leaving only his gloved hand reaching out from the rubble as a thick pool of blood formed beneath it.

In the center of the circular atrium stood Jack, her chest heaving for breath as her whole body trembled. The surviving trooper emerged from the dust of the shattered marble, his footing stumbling a bit before he set his sights on Jack. The soldier’s helmet seemed to have taken the brunt of Jack’s attack, it’s visor now cracked down the center, and they tore it off. What stood before them was no man but in fact a woman with a mane of red hair. Her skin was a sickly pale color, her piercing blue eyes narrowed as she glared at Jack. She carried none of the husk-like features Miranda had expected to see, in fact it appeared like there may have been a time when this woman was considered very beautiful, though that was before whatever experiments had been done on her. Now, she didn’t even speak, merely snarling as she charged.

Jack was without question the most powerful biotic Miranda had ever seen but even she had her limits. The convict raised her hands and her barriers as the female trooper tossed strike after strike, but it was clear they were faltering. Amidst the stone debris and shards of glass littering the tiled floor, Miranda saw her fallen pistol nestled just a few feet away and she dove towards it, snatching the weapon up and pulling the trigger without hesitation. The bullet sunk into the red haired trooper’s temple and blew her brains out the other side. The tall woman somehow staggered one last step before she thundered to the ground, stone dead.

The convict's hands feel to her knees and she slumped over, panting heavily. “Screw those things. Us two, them zero.”  She paused, taking a second to catch her breath. “Nice shot, cheerleader. Definitely packed a punch though.”

“You’re not wrong about that. Which is why I recommend we get far away from here before their friends show up looking for them. It won’t take them long to finish up those aliens outside and I don’t think either of us wants to deal with seven of their friends.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Not to sound like a pussy but I don’t know how much longer I can go without something to eat,” Jack said.  Miranda could see the sweat dripping down her skin and practically hear the rumbling of her stomach; biotics used up a lot of calories and the convict had just been using hers at a high level.

“Then let’s hope there’s a back exit to this place.” Miranda turned to leave but Jack stepped towards the body of the Cerberus woman. “Jack?” 

Jack waved a hand. “Hold up,” she said as she knelt down beside one of the corpses. Something had clearly caught her eye.

The redhaired giant of a woman laid in a puddle of her own blood, the exit wound leaving her head in a grotesque state. However it wasn’t the woman’s face that had Jack’s attention but something else that had been covered by her mask. 

Below the woman’s rounded chin and running down her neck were two deep scars that had discolored her skin a bright red. Jack reached one hand out and traced her finger along the marks until her path was cut short by the collar of the woman’s armor. With one charged hand Jack tore back the chestpiece and revealed the ends of the scars just above the woman’s collarbone. 

“What is that?” Miranda asked. 

Jack turned around, grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled it down so Miranda could get a good look at the matching marks on Jack’s own neck. “Looks pretty fucking similar don’t it?” 

Miranda feared she didn’t need to ask but she did so anyway. “How did you get those?” 

“How do you think?” Jack rose to her feet. “Cerberus.” 

Miranda crossed her arms. “Come on, we should move.” 

“Hold up. Back on the  _ Normandy _ you told me that you didn’t know about Pragia, that Teltin was just a one time thing.”

“As far as I knew it was.”

“You better be on the level with me, cheerleader.” 

“Jack, I’d hope that if I’d proven one thing to you in the past few days it’s that you can trust me. “

There was no response, and Miranda decided to take that silence as acceptance.  Without another word the two of them hurried through the archives. As with so much on colony worlds like this one, the building was designed to look expensive without actually spending the money. Shiny synthetic facades, covering up pre-fab construction. This one just happened to be filled with a variety of trinkets: a piece of the first human spaceship to touch down on Typhoon, holos of early colonists, and plenty of other junk Miranda would be just as happy to watch burn.

Fortunately, the rear door wasn’t too hard to find, and soon enough the two of them were back out on the streets of Typhoon. There was no immediate sign of pursuit, but Miranda didn’t want to take any chances. Not until they were several blocks away did she finally slow down and let them rest.

“God, this place just delivers one shitshow after another, doesn’t it?” Jack grunted. “Just when I think it can’t get any uglier, we’ve got giant biotic goons running around killing everyone. Ford really fucking needs to die.”

“You’ll get no argument from me,” Miranda agreed, “And you just may get your chance soon enough.  Look.”

Jack turned to where she was pointing: Ford’s tower, finally no more than ten or so blocks away. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. I was starting to think we’d never get to that place.”

_ You and me both. _ “It seems we have, but let’s not get careless. We need to approach this place carefully; somehow I don’t think that muscling our way in is going to be possible. It’s going to take recon. Right now, it’s strictly surveillance, followed by some food and rest before we actually go in after him.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jack sighed. “Same as usual.” Her fatigue was clear, draining away her usual eagerness for the kill or desire to screw with Miranda.

“We do have one advantage: with so many of Ford’s men out scouring the streets for our alien friends, this place shouldn’t have quite as much security as usual. I’m sure there are still plenty of soldiers inside but maybe we can get close without getting spotted at least.”

“Heh. I guess at this point I’ll take whatever breaks we can get.”

The two of them resumed their trek down the streets but more slowly now, which was a relief. Miranda might not have burned off as much energy as Jack fighting the troopers, but she still badly needed some food.  _ I suppose we’ll have to find a restaurant to loot or something.  _ Her whole life, whatever the dangers she’d been in, the simple things like food had always been available. No more. It didn’t bother her as much as others might have thought however. Miranda was not a soft woman, and while she might have enjoyed some of the finer things in life, she was by no means defined by them. In that moment she would have gladly eaten an Alliance standard MRE without even giving it a second thought.

They continued to move through the streets in silence. The bodies and signs of battle Miranda had come to expect grew littered each block they passed. While in the outer city Miranda could find numerous bodies of Cerberus soldiers joining the alien rebels but here there was little but non-human blood painting the streets. Fresh non-human blood. Miranda covered her nose and mouth with the hand not holding her pistol. The stench was unbearable. 

“Compliments of those big assholes back there?” Jack asked. 

“Most likely.” 

Jack kicked the stiff head of a fallen krogan as she spoke. “If these guys hit this hard, why haven’t we seen them before now?” 

Miranda looked up to the tower which was now close enough that it towered over them so high that she could no longer see the top. “Because Ford doesn’t want to let everyone know his full strength. And because he only really cares about protecting what’s in there.”

“And what do you think that is?” 

“I have no idea.” Miranda pointed to a rusted fire escape that reached from the street to the top of a five story building. “We should be able to see what kind of external security the tower has from up there.”

Jack made a gesture in its direction with her hand. “Lead the way.” 

Miranda scrambled up the rusted staircase. The fire escape let out a moan as they climbed, and for a moment she feared the whole thing might come crashing down. The thought was good for a chuckle. After everything, to be killed by a rusty staircase would have been a cruel joke, and she was thankful that they reached the top before getting to the punchline.

The roof of the building was relatively empty despite the communication relay rod that stretched ten feet up from its center. Miranda found it odd that this dilapidated building was once noteworthy enough to have a vidcomm expensive enough to reach out of system, but the thought quickly left her mind as she and Jack came to a stop at the edge of the rooftop. Miranda had been right, it provided them with a perfect vantage point to one of the tower’s entrances. She had expected to find some security outside but even still... 

Jack shook her head. “Son of a bitch.” 

The entrance was an ordinary door, and it wouldn’t take her hardly any effort to crack it’s lock and walk into Ford’s stronghold. However the large barricade flanked by two heavy turrets, an Atlas mech suit, and the squadron of at least twenty of those same heavy troopers who had just annihilated the aliens would prove slightly more challenging to pass.  _ And there’s probably more inside, maybe a lot more.  _ She didn’t bother counting their opposition, merely turning away so that she could sit down with her back to the tower.

“So...it’s bad. So what?” Jack was trying her best to sound optimistic. “You’re supposed to be smart right? We’ll figure this out.”

_ No, Jack. No we won’t. This is a battle we can’t win. _


	14. Chapter 14

“Pretty sweet find, huh?” Jack mumbled, though it was hard to understand her, given how full of chicken her mouth currently was. Still, she was certainly entitled to some credit. The alien uprising had caused many of the residents of the inner city to flee, presumably for the safety of Cerberus military installations, abandoning their homes in their haste to escape. That left an opportunity for two hungry biotics, and Jack had picked out a pretty nice apartment for them to burglarize.

Miranda had found it strangely therapeutic to cook up the meal, they were now eating. “At least if we’re going to die, we’ll do it on a full stomach,” she agreed with a sort of grim humor. She twisted open a bottle of imported Earth beer, and took a long pull. In general, she wouldn’t have described herself as a beer person, but it seemed an appropriate drink for their present circumstances.

Jack definitely _was_ a fan of the stuff, popping open her sixth bottle of the evening with her biotics and swilling it down. Under other circumstances, Miranda might have chided her about getting drunk, but thanks to the convict’s enhanced metabolism, she was no more than buzzed, and there was little chance she would be incapacitated by a hangover the next morning.

_Besides, what does it matter? Drunk or sober, we’re not going to survive an attack on that tower._

Responding to her pessimism, Jack asked, “You really think we’re not going be able to pull this shit off?”

“Maybe we can find a way,” Miranda replied non-committally. “Figure out a way past the guards, get to the top floor before _too_ many of them are onto us, and kill Ford. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s a long shot.”

“Fuck,” Jack snorted, “You’ve got that big brain, I’m sure you’ll think of something. No matter what, that asshole needs to die.”

“Hopefully, he will.”  Miranda left her last thought unsaid; that even if they did find a path to Ford, the odds of them actually making it back out of the tower and finding a ship off-world while every Cerberus soldier on Typhon tried to get revenge for the death of their leader were pretty much non-existent. The mission might not be doomed, but it was almost certainly a one-way trip for whoever took it.

“Anyway, it won’t be our first suicide mission,” Jack pointed out, digging back into her chicken. “Riding into certain death is kinda old hat by now.”

_And what does that say about our lives?_

“You know, I’m curious,” Miranda said, “How did you spend your time before our last one. I mean, you know what I was doing…”

Jack’s snort of laughter interrupted her. “Who you were doing, you mean, cheerleader. Half the ship heard you and Shep knocking boots before the Collector Base.” Jack smirked as she twirled the bottle cap of her beer in the air with a small biotic field.

“We might have been a tad vocal,” Miranda conceded with a shrug. She didn’t really want to think about her former lover. The time when he had laid claim to her heart seemed a million years ago. Now, it was someone else she found more interesting, even if it was a ridiculous thought. “But I was asking about you.”

Jack shrugged. “Didn’t do much. Drank mostly. Zaeed, Grunt, that Chambers girl…”

Her voice trailed off and a sudden wave of regret weighed down on Miranda. Zaeed was all right last she’d heard, but Grunt had been killed fighting the proto-Reaper, and Kelly had been shot in the head by Cerberus soldiers during their attempted coup on the Citadel. _So many gone_. She raised her bottle in a salute. “To old comrades.”

Jack’s clinked hers against it. “Yeah. To them.”

A moment passed without either of them speaking, but Miranda wasn’t willing to abandon her question yet. “But you didn’t have anyone to contact before we passed through the Omega Four Relay?” She asked. “I know you were taken from your parents, but no friends? No boyfriend?” She paused. “A girlfriend perhaps?”

Jack let out another derisive snort and took a long swig of her beer. “Relationships are bullshit. If there’s one thing I learned long before the _Normandy_ , it’s that people let you down in the end. Especially if you’re fucking them.”

“You really believe that?”

“Look who’s talking. I don’t mean to be a bitch but Shepard kinda screwed you over when he bailed for that Alliance chick.”

“Perhaps it’s men that are my problem,” Miranda joked. _Of course, I’m just joking. Right?_

Jack chuckled. “Maybe.” They sipped on their beers in silence for a moment before the convict spoke again. “So what if this a one way trip? As long as I go down taking Cerberus with me then I don’t have any regrets. But what about you? You were all about Cerberus when we met. Why throw everything away to get your ass killed fighting them?”

“Because I have nothing left to lose. I hardly had much of anything to begin with, and now... Better to be remembered as the woman who put the final nail in Cerberus’ coffin than as the Illusive Man’s right hand.”

“So this is about your legacy or some shit like that?”

Miranda recoiled at the thought. “Please don’t say that. You make me sound like my father. No, it’s not about my legacy. I suppose I’d just like to die a better woman than I lived.”

“So there’s nobody you wanna call tonight, either? What about that sister of yours?”

Miranda shrugged. “Ori doesn’t need to hear from me. I’m glad I got to meet her, but she doesn’t need to be tainted with my name, with the things that I’ve done. We had our talk. Now, it would be better if I just disappeared from her life.”

“Shit.” Jack took a long swig of beer. “Guess we’re both alone, cheerleader.”

“Not exactly. We have each other don’t we?”

Jack laughed bitterly. “Yeah, two chicks who a week ago hated each other’s guts, and now we’re all we’ve got left. Shit, that is sad.”

“I never hated you,” Miranda admitted. “Not truly. In fact I was… maybe a little jealous of you. If I’m being honest.”

“What?” Jack arched an eyebrow.

“I always needed someone to tell me who to be. My father, the Illusive Man… even Shepard. But you?” Miranda cracked a smile. “You never let anyone tell you who or what you were. I greatly admired that. I still do.”

Jack returned the smile. “I guess I was kinda jealous of you too.”

Now it was Miranda’s turn to be incredulous. “Oh, really? And why is that?”

“Well...you’ve got amazing tits.”

Miranda couldn’t help but laugh and Jack joined in. The operative couldn’t remember the last time she’d done that without bitterness behind it, and the convict seemed to notice. “You should let your hair down more, cheerleader,” she said.

 _At least tonight, I should. I don’t imagine I’ll have many more opportunities._ Miranda looked down at her beer. “Think they have anything stronger here?”

“Now you’re talking,” Jack said enthusiastically as she hopped to her feet.

Miranda found her eyes drifting along Jack’s body as the convict hunted through the wooden cabinets that lined the kitchen. When she found her prize, Jack whirled around, holding a bottle of bourbon in one hand and wearing a smile on her face.

_She really is quite beautiful when she smiles. Not that she does it very often._

“Guess these rich Cerberus fucks know how to party at least,” Jack said as she unscrewed the top of the bottle and took a large swig before handing it over.

Miranda smirked before matching Jack’s pull. The convict sat down beside her, close enough that their shoulders nearly pressed together. A shower had been both women’s first priority after breaking and entering, and now it was electric, being so close to Jack, inhaling the clean scent of her body.

Instead of hiding from that feeling, Miranda finally embraced it. She was attracted to this woman. Jack was beautiful on nearly every level, but damaged, just like Miranda herself. She’d made mistakes, been someone she wasn’t proud of, but she didn’t let it define her. Cerberus had tried to break Jack, to make her a tool under their control, but it had only made her stronger. She never belonged to Cerberus or anyone else but herself. And under her uncaring persona hid a woman who cared deeply. About her students, about the galaxy she’d put her life on the line to help save twice, and Miranda dared to think that perhaps she cared for her as well.

Jack spoke up, pulling Miranda from her thoughts. “So say we fight our way up Ford’s tower…”

“Alright, say we do.”

Jack took another nip from the bottle. “And we rip the little bastard in two and kick the ass of any Cerberus fucker who’s dumb enough to try to stop us from splitting. Once we’ve escaped, then what?”

“I suppose we go our separate ways.” Even though there was little chance of that happening, the words still made Miranda’s heart sink.

“Yeah...I guess.” Jack hung her head. She almost sounded disappointed as well.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. There was a weight to the silence, and Miranda reached for the bourbon in an effort to cover it. Just before the bottle reached her lips though, she stopped and put it back down on the table. Wherever this conversation was going, she decided that she’d rather finish it sober.

“We wouldn’t have to,” she said at last, unable to meet Jack’s eyes.

“Oh, yeah? Say we stuck together. What would we do?” Jack asked, though the question seemed genuine rather than malicious. “Open a fucking coffee shop?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Miranda confessed. “It… was just a thought. Forget I mentioned it.”

Jack shrugged. “S’okay. I was kinda thinking it too. This thing, this mission… it’s been more than I thought it’d be.”

“On that we can agree.”

The hint of a smile crossed the convict’s face, and once more, Miranda felt her heart catch in her throat at how pretty Jack looked. Beneath all of the anger and the garish tattoos, there was something indescribably lovely about the other woman, and the urge to act on her feelings was becoming more overwhelming by the second. Her eyes fell to Jack’s full lips before shifting back to her big, brown eyes.

 _You’ll probably never have another chance_ , she told herself, fighting down the spike of fear that the idea brought. _And you might regret it if you try, but know you will if you do nothing._

Before she could talk herself out of it, Miranda bent forward. She moved slowly enough to give Jack a chance to withdraw, but when the convict shifted towards her instead, Miranda continued. For a moment they simply stared into each other’s eyes, daring the other to press on, before the urge overwhelmed Miranda. She leaned in and their lips finally came together, drawn by a force that Miranda couldn’t deny any longer.

As soon as the kiss began, Miranda’s skin flushed at the heat of Jack’s mouth. Her lips opened almost of their own accord, and the convict’s tongue slid inside, even as hers did they same.

The need to touch, to taste, to feel was too sharp for her to do anything else.

Jack’s hands shot out, one of them threading through Miranda’s soft, dark hair, the other gripping her back, and the the two of them stumbled out of their chairs. Miranda was clutching at Jack now as well, tugging on her clothes, hands running along her body. Her breath was beginning to run short, but she couldn’t bring herself to break the kiss. Some part of her knew that then, they might have consider what was happening, and she wasn’t willing to do that. Not yet.

That meant it was Jack who broke off first, but it wasn’t to talk. A tug of her hand encouraged Miranda to tilt her head back and Jack’s lips went straight to her throat. The graze of the convict’s teeth across the soft skin there made Miranda moan, desire bubbling over at even that first contact.

The sound seemed to give Jack paused. She stopped what she was doing, although she didn’t pull back, making her breath hot on Miranda’s skin when she asked, “Are we really doing this, cheerleader?”

Jack’s breath hitched on the last word, and something about hearing the nickname spoken in that tone made Miranda shiver. There were reasons why this might be a bad idea, but none of them seemed to matter. Miranda _wanted_ this, wanted Jack with an intensity that shocked her. There was an excellent chance she would be die tomorrow, and if this was going to be her last night alive, she realized there was no one she would rather spend it with than Jack.

“Yes,” she panted, “If you want…”

Jack cut her off. “Fuck yes, I do.”

The convict’s lips found hers once more, and Miranda eagerly returned the kiss. A moan slipped out when she felt Jack’s strong hands squeeze her ass through her tight pants. Tattooed fingers massaged into her soft behind before Jack’s hands slid up to grab the hem of Miranda’s leather jacket.

Jack wasted no time in tearing the garment off, even while Miranda started to unbutton the convict’s jeans. Before she could get them down though, she had to lift her arms so that Jack could pull her tanktop up over her head. Her hair was left rustled and her torso was now only covered by her plain bra. They paused, each taking a moment to appreciate the sight, before Miranda reached back and unclasped her bra. She let the garment fall to the floor and Jack’s eyes widened even as her hands reached up to cup Miranda’s large breasts.

“Shit,” she gasped as she palmed them, “Like I said cheerleader, amazing.”

Jack’s thumbs circled around her sensitive nipples, and Miranda bit down on her lower lip even as her breath caught in her throat. Already, her skin was flushed and heat was pooling between her legs. Admitting that this was what she wanted had opened a floodgate, and now Miranda was drowning in her need.

The two women staggered towards a nearby couch and when Miranda tumbled down into the cushions, Jack climbed on top of her. The convict bent low, taking the erect tip of a nipple between her lips and circling her tongue around the captured bud. Miranda moaned, louder than before, and her hands became unsteady as she fumbled with Jack’s jacket. She needed to feel bare skin _now_ and the slight pause in Jack’s attentions while she helped to strip it off was worth the break.

Once her torso was bare, Jack switched over to the other breast, and Miranda was left to clutch at her, made almost helpless by her desire. One hand grabbed onto the convict’s back while the other clawed at her short hair, wordlessly urging her to keep going. Every flick of Jack’s tongue across her nipple, every touch of her slim fingers along Miranda’s chest, sent bolts of lightning down her spine. It felt amazing, and more than that, it felt right, not like a desperate mistake, but something she _should_ be doing.

_I was such a fool to ever think of Jack as less than me, to not appreciate the woman she is._

The convict’s tattooed hands snaked down across her torso, and Miranda’s hips began bucking, desperate for the more intimate contact those touches promised. Jack didn’t give it to her yet though. Instead, her tongue ran just below the line of Miranda’s still-sensitive cut, but as good as it felt there, it wasn’t enough.

“Jack,” she mumbled in-between her gasps, “More.”

For once, the convict obeyed orders. She slid down onto the floor beneath Miranda, and after making short work of its buttons, tugged down her pants. The underwear beneath them was already damp, and Jack began running her fingers along the outside.

Miranda moaned before grabbing hold of the convict’s head, pulling it up to hers. Her tongue thrust into Jack’s mouth and she drank in the kiss even while the convict’s fingers found their way back to cup her clothed sex. Miranda panted, and Jack tore away from her lips long enough to hiss, “Fuck, you’re into this. So wet for me already?”

The operative’s only response was another gasp as her new lover’s hand slid beneath the waistband of her underwear and began making its way through the trimmed patch of dark hair there. Once more their eyes met, and Miranda nodded, granting Jack permission to go further. The tips of the convict’s fingers brushed across her folds, and Miranda’s grip tightened. She had certainly enjoyed sex in the past, but she couldn’t remember feeling this desperate for anyone else’s touch.

By the time Jack had slid back her hood and found the nub of her clit, Miranda was trembling. The first press was enough to make her scream, and her inner walls pulsed greedily, hungry for some stimulation there as well. Shocks of bliss were shooting through her, and she only barely managed to find the words to ask, “I want you inside me, Jack. _Please_.”

The broken note in her voice seemed to do the trick. A low growl came out of Jack’s throat, and seconds later, two of her fingers curled inside of Miranda. Her body clamped down as soon as Jack was buried inside of her, unwilling to lose what she had just gained, and she could do nothing but rock back and forth as the convict settled in between her legs, setting up a hard rhythm.

“So fucking tight around me, cheerleader,” Jack groaned, and Miranda could hear the desperate desire in her voice. She wanted, no _needed_ , to get more of it. To explore every inch of Jack’s body, to make her cry out over and over, until the convict couldn’t take any more.

But not yet. First she needed to come, needed it as badly as she could ever remember needing an orgasm in her life. Every time Jack’s fingers pressed into her, every time they hooked against her front wall, she felt it getting a little bit closer, but then, without warning, the convict slid out of her, and a whimper of disappointment slipped past Miranda’s lips.

“I’m so close,” she protested, “Jack, I’m…”

“I know. I wanna taste.”

The promise alone was enough to make Miranda’s clit throb almost past the point of no return. Jack knelt back between her legs, and this time she yanked the now-soaked underwear the rest of the way off. Miranda’s bare skin quivered in the cool air, anticipation making her tremble, but it didn’t stay anticipation for long. Jack’s hands gripped her hips and her tongue _finally_ reached her sex.

The operative rocked against Jack’s mouth, giving herself over to the pleasure. The convict’s enthusiasm was overwhelming, and as her tongue began to hit one delicious spot after another, she cried out, her eyes screwing shut. With each move Jack made Miranda felt herself crawl closer and closer to the edge while her worries melted away. She forgot about her likely, imminent death, about the galaxy’s hatred of her, about her past romantic failures. The only things left were her pleasure, and the desperate desire to somehow stay in it forever, to never have to leave this apartment or Jack.

Jack’s tongue darted in and out of her, even while her hand reached down to play with her throbbing clit. Miranda let out a sharp cry and her eyes snapped back open, meeting Jack’s big, brown ones. The hungry look there was too much. Miranda’s inner walls spasmed, spilling her release across the convict’s lips and chin while the rest of her body went rigid.

Somewhere in her ecstasy, she found Jack’s name, calling it out over and over, as waves of pleasure washed over her. For much too long, her life had been defined by horror, and loneliness, and pain, and she had needed this more than she could’ve imagined. For once, Miranda just let go and _felt_ , taking everything Jack had to give her.

Only once she was left slumped into the couch, did Jack rise, licking her lips clean with evident relish. “Jack,” Miranda murmured, “Thank you for that.”

Jack grinned, an expression of amusement that belied the hunger in her eyes. “You wanna thank me, cheerleader, you can return the favor.”

_Absolutely._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that puts an end to the longest I've gone in a story without getting to the smut. ;-) Blame the bad (good?) influence of my co-author. I hope you feel it was worth the wait. There's more to come, and plenty of other good stuff.


	15. Chapter 15

For at least the third time that evening, Miranda Lawson took a moment to appreciate the absurdity of her current situation. She was sitting on the couch in the nude while a woman she had long ago written off as nothing more than a liability finished stripping for her. 

_ And how wrong I was. _

Jack’s full lips pulled into a smile as she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her jeans. Her torso was already on full display, which gave Miranda a great view of the colorful web of tattoos covering the convict’s body. Her eyes trailed up the muscular ridge of Jack’s stomach before settling on her pert breasts. They were marked with more subtle tattoos that included a series of black lines surrounding her prominent nipples in a starburst pattern. Jack slicked her short brown hair back behind her ears before she pulled her jeans down, slowly revealing the markings on her legs. Miranda saw more scars there but her attention was quickly captured by the other woman’s damp underwear.

“I see I’m not the only one enjoying myself,” she commented with a smile. 

Jack rolled her eyes and at last pulled her panties down. “I’ll level with you, cheerleader. You’ve got me horny as fuck.” 

“I guess I’d better do something about that then.” 

Miranda dropped to her knees in front of Jack. She began by planting a tender kiss on her inner thigh before resting her cheek on the tattooed leg and staring up at her new lover. Jack looked down, her hunger clear in her pretty face. “Shit, you gonna make me beg for it?” 

“No.” Jack was clearly beyond the need for more foreplay so instead of torturing her further, Miranda got straight to work. Her lips moved rapidly up the soft skin of the convict’s legs, before burying her face between them. The thick, musky scent of her arousal was too enticing to resist, and when Miranda’s tongue darted past her folds, Jack let out a low hiss. She drew another out of when her hands snaked up to knead the firm, tattooed flesh of Jack’s ass. The convict’s breath hitched as her fingers came down to rest on Miranda’s head. She expected a harsh tug to encourage her efforts but instead Jack only threaded her fingers through her hair, crying out her pleasure.

Hearing those needy sounds pushed Miranda to do more. She found Jack’s clit and swiped her tongue across the throbbing bud, making her her lover’s knees wobble in response. “Fuck, Miranda!” Jack moaned. “Keep going!”

Her tongue continued to toy with Jack’s clit while she sheathed two fingers inside her opening. The slick inner walls fluttered around her digits and Miranda looked up to see that Jack’s eyes were screwed shut while her hands tweaked her own nipples. The speed with which the other woman was coming undone was thrilling. It only required a few more strokes before Jack’s walls clamped down on her fingers and with one final pass of her tongue, release came spilling out of the convict as she screamed in ecstasy.

The ripples around her fingers and the throbbing of Jack’s clit took a long time to taper off, and only once they had stopped entirely did Miranda pulled away. She licked her lips as she looked up at the woman standing over her. “Fuck…” Jack heaved, gasping for air. “That was….shit, that was…”

Miranda rose to her feet and circled around her. “I’m pleased you enjoyed yourself,” she whispered huskily as she moved in closer, pressing her large breasts against Jack’s back and wrapping her arms around her. “The night’s young, Jack. And seeing as it’s likely the last one we’ll ever see, why don’t we make the most of it?” By way of inducement, Miranda nibbled on Jack’s earlobe as she brought her hands up to the convict’s nipples. Toying the sensitive points drew a hiss from the woman. 

“Fuck yeah,” she mumbled, biting her lip, “That sounds good, cheerleader. Just don’t stop.”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” She ran her tongue along the outer shell of Jack’s ear before whispering into it, “But I do think I’d like a bed for the next round.”

“Whatever you say.”

The two of them stumbled through the apartment, unwilling to release their hold on each other for even a second. Somewhere along the way, Jack turned in her arms, pressing more kisses on Miranda’s lips. They were hard but not angry, expressions of raw desire, and by the time the reached the pleasingly large bed, Miranda’s legs were shaking. Jack guided her down onto the mattress, and when she looked up into the convict’s brown eyes, the hunger there made her quiver. It was the same hunger she felt, heightened by the knowledge that they would probably only get this one chance to be together.

Miranda spread her legs and it was an invitation the convict seemed eager to accept. Jack fell on top of her, one hand cupping an aching breast while the other slid between Miranda’s thighs. Calloused fingers slid along her sensitive skin, making her moan, “Yes, Jack. Oh, yes!” One hand shot down while the other threaded through her lover’s short hair and gripped it hard. “Take me!” she pleaded. 

Jack didn’t have to be told twice. Her fingers dug into Miranda’s thigh as they slid upwards, only stopping when she reached the slick folds of her sex. As soon as contact was made, Miranda’s hips bucked, pushing greedily into the touch. She wanted everything Jack had to give her, and mercifully, the convict seemed to realize that. Soon enough, the pads of two of her fingers were probing against the tight muscle of Miranda’s entrance.

She took them easily, her wetness covering her new lover’s hand at the first penetration, but even that wasn’t enough. Miranda rocked back and forth, coaxing Jack to go further until at last the convict was buried fully inside of her. Just the feeling of the digits sheathed there was enough to make Miranda’s inner walls pulse. She couldn’t remember needing to come so badly after already having climaxed once in a night, but she no longer cared how desperate she seemed. This moment, this pleasure, was all that mattered.

It seemed she wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Even as Jack’s hand began to slid in and out of her sex, the convict’s mouth was trailing up her throat, teeth grazing the soft skin. Higher and higher she went, and when she reached Miranda’s ear, she growled, “Fuck me too.”

Miranda couldn’t manage to reply with words, but she still tried to do as Jack had demanded. Her free hand slid down the taut muscles of the convict’s back and towards the firm swell of her ass. Jack arched up to meet her touch, her legs spreading to invite Miranda inside. Two of the operative’s fingers curled into her sex, and she let out a low purr at just how much wetness she found there.

It wasn’t easy to find the right rhythm together, but the sheer turn-on of taking Jack even as she was taken herself made Miranda shiver. Somewhere in the haze of pleasure, Jack’s thumb found her clit, pressing against it every time she thrust inside, even while the convict ground against her leg in search of additional stimulation.

Miranda was doing her best to keep up her end of the implicit bargain, but Jack’s motions were quickly melting away everything but the pleasure she was feeling. She wrapped her long legs around the convict’s waist as Jack leaned forward, burying her face between Miranda’s big breasts. And then Jack sent a small biotic pulse through the fingers buried inside of Miranda, and her attempts at reciprocation failed entirely. Her whole body shuddered as Jack’s tongue dragged around her nipples, and after one more biotic vibration, her knees crashed together, and pulses of wetness covered the convict’s hand. Miranda’s breath caught in her throat as every muscle in her body tensed. Jack let out a sympathetic moan as the operative’s orgasm continued to soak her hand and the bed sheets beneath them with her climax.

It took a while before Miranda could do anything but scream. Her orgasm seemed to go on for ages as she writhed and moaned on the damp sheets while Jack watched her with growing need. By the time the last aftershocks passed, she was left a panting mess under the convict. Her body was drenched in sweat, her thighs trembling and slick with her arousal. She wiped the strands of hair away from her face as she tried desperately to catch her breath. 

“That…” Jack hummed as she licked her fingers clean, “Was pretty fucking hot. You didn’t tell me you could do that.”

“Incredible.” Miranda gasped. “It was incredible.” She propped herself up on her elbows. “But I fear I didn’t quite do my part.” 

A gleam of anticipation shone in Jack’s eyes. “What did you have in mind?”

“How about you sit on my face?”

“I got a better idea.” Jack licked her lips. “I want some more of this too.” 

The convict rolled onto her back and Miranda got the message. She crawled on top of Jack, burying her face between her thighs while she situated her own sex over her lover’s face. It wasn’t long before she felt strong fingers kneading the soft, round cheeks of her ass. “Get to work, cheerleader!” Jack ordered, accompanying the words with an encouraging spank. 

Miranda let out a chuckle before she obliged. As soon as her tongue made contact with Jack’s clit, she was rewarded with an encouraging moan, and the feel of strong fingers tightening their grip on her ass. “Damn, ever since the other day I haven’t been able to keep my eyes off this,” the convict laughed, giving her another playful slap. Once Miranda’s tongue slipped inside her though, the joking stopped. A low moan slipped out of Jack’s throat, and she leaned forward to reciprocate.

***

They made love well into the night. Every time it seemed one of them might be spent, the other’s desire would pull them back in, and it wasn’t until the little light that still remained in the city’s night died out and the sounds of battle ceased that they were finally done.  Even then, they lay together on the mattress, their entangled bodies were covered in sweat. Jack’s head rested on Miranda’s chest, and she gently stroked the convict’s tattooed back until her new lover broke the long silence.

“Miranda....” she whispered. The sound of her name took her by surprise.  _ I think I’ve gotten used to Cheerleader.  _ “Thank you. I...needed that.”

She kissed the top of Jack’s head. “We both did.”

“You really think we have a shot at pulling this off?” 

“Why do you ask?”

Jack shrugged and trailed her hand along Miranda’s stomach. “I accepted this mission because I wanted it to be done with. I never had any plans to leave this planet alive; I just wanted to get myself killed doing the only thing I was ever good at...fucking up Cerberus.”

“And now?”

“Now...now I guess I might not mind sticking around for a while. Maybe…”  She hesitated before finishing the sentence. “Maybe seeing where this goes?”

Miranda ran her fingers through Jack’s short hair. Only days before, the thought would have been ridiculous, but no more. “I’d like that,” she agreed.

“Well, then let’s try not to fucking die tomorrow.”

In spite of the grim sentiment, Miranda couldn’t help but laugh. “I’ll do my best.”

“I know it’s a long shot, but fuck it, we’ve dealt with those before, right?”

“We have.” She bent over, giving Jack a final kiss on the top of her head. The convict pressed one back on her breastbone before nuzzling up against her, as peaceful as Miranda could ever remember seeing her. It wasn’t long before her breathing began to slow, and Miranda’s own slumber wasn’t far behind. Actually sleeping in a real bed had become a luxury, and she and Jack had given it, and each other, quite the workout. Tomorrow, they might well die, but at least tonight, she could rest in peace.

***

When Miranda awoke, she found that Jack was no longer in her arms. Instead, the convict had curled up on the other side of the bed, the blankets wrapped around her into a small nest. The position had stripped her of the size that her power and rage often seemed to give her, replacing it with a vulnerability that pierced Miranda’s heart.

_ She’s so young. And she’s already been through so much. Is it right that she dies today? _

It wasn’t. And yet, what could Miranda do about it? Whatever Ford’s ultimate aims for this new Cerberus of his, she had already seen more than enough horrors on Typhon to know what he was about. No matter what it cost, the man had to die, and the odds that the two of them would be killed either in the attempt or immediately afterwards were overwhelming. The building was simply too well guarded to storm, and security would probably be too thorough to infiltrate undetected, let alone escape.

_ No matter how good last night was, no amount of sex changes the odds against us. What else can I do?  _ The realization hit her suddenly and her heart sank in her chest.  _ Cerberus is my mess, the monster that I helped to create. If I die stopping it, maybe that’s justice, a balancing of the scales. But Jack was their victim, for most of her life. They don’t get to take the rest of it away. She doesn’t deserve that; not the way I do. _

With a gentle hand Miranda wiped Jack’s hair from her face, careful not to wake the other woman as she did. “Thank you for everything,” she whispered before slipping out of bed as quietly as she could, going in search of the clothes she’d been so eager to discard the night before.

As Miranda shrugged her jacket over her shoulders and fitted her holster to her hips, she froze. Jack had stirred, but though the convict rolled over, she didn’t wake, only murmuring some slurred words in her sleep. Miranda turned back for one last look, fixing the image in her mind to fortify herself for what she had to do. “Goodbye, Jack.”

***

Jack awoke to the sound of sirens. She jolted upright in the comfortable bed, the cool morning air causing her naked body to tense.

_ What the fuck?  _

She looked around in a daze as the siren pulsed on. Her new lover was nowhere to be seen and the other side of the bed was cold. “Miranda?!” she cried out over the screeching noise. 

No answer came and Jack stumbled out of bed and towards the bathroom, hoping to catch the operative in her morning shower. Instead she found it empty and to her surprise, Jack felt panic set in. 

_ Where the hell is she?  _

Jack ran back to the bedroom, calling out Miranda’s name one more time as she quickly tugged back on her clothes and snatched up weapon. A million fears raced through her head, an icy sensation who’s chill she had started to forget. She hadn’t cared about someone like this since her students, hadn’t fought for something except the chance to live another day. It wouldn’t have been a bad feeling, she realized, except for one thing: the woman she now worried about was gone. 

When she finally reached the street, the siren had ceased its wailing. Instead, she was confronted with one of Cerberus’ grand vidscreens displaying the emblem she’d learned to despise from when she was only three feet tall. Soon enough, it was replaced with an equally loathsome sight. Their target sat on his pompous throne, his ridiculous white beard flowing from his wrinkled face. Ford leaned forward and as he spoke, the sound of his voice made Jack’s fists clench.

“Brothers and sisters of Cerberus, I come to you today with news of triumph. Our campaign against the ungrateful and savage alien menace that has plagued our city has been victorious. Our brave soldiers have proven the superiority of the human race yet again, a superiority that the galaxy will soon come to know.”

“Ever since Jon Grissom and his Alliance propelled us into this new galaxy, humanity has been at the mercy of alien life. I come before you today to tell you all that those days of alien rule are numbered. Our army will only grow once we reclaim our homeworld from the pathetic Alliance. And reclaim it we shall, for a new weapon has been delivered into our hands.” 

Ford made a curt gesture with his hand and the golden curtain behind his chair fell down to reveal what awaited on the other side. 

_ No.  _

Jack’s fists glowed bright blue and the street around her tore apart with the force of her rage. A lone woman sat on her knees, her wrists bound with biotic cuffs. Surrounding her were two Cerberus soldiers clad in their gleaming white armor, their rifles pointed at the head of Miranda Lawson.


	16. Chapter 16

Even after Miranda’s image had faded from the screen, Jack was still shaking from the mixture of rage, fear, and impotent frustration that were boiling in her soul. Her fists clenched and the air sparked as waves of biotic fury rolled off of her.

_ How did this happen? How could those sons of bitches have gotten their fucking hands on Miranda? _

Her instincts screamed at her to tear the entire fucking planet down, to rip apart every piece of Cerberus scum between her and Miranda. But some more rational corner of her brain knew that wasn’t the answer. As much power as she had, she couldn’t kill  _ all _ of Ford’s mutant goons before one of them managed to take her down. If she was going to save her - _ what the hell is she? My girlfriend? I don’t fucking know, but whatever she is, I have to get her back, and that means I have to keep my head screwed on straight right now. _

Jack took a long, deep breath and did her best to think rationally.  _ Okay, Cerberus didn’t break into the house or they would’ve tried to get me too, which means it happened outside. Did Miranda go out somewhere and get jumped? But where would she have been going? Maybe there’s a clue inside. _

She turned around and headed back into the house, hoping that nobody had noticed her biotic display. Fortunately, no alarm was sounding yet, leaving her free to look around. In her hurry, she hadn’t noticed much besides Miranda’s absence, but now she prepared to conduct a more careful search. 

It wasn’t necessary. When Jack walked back into the bedroom she saw the note almost immediately, pinned under the lamp on a nightstand next to the bed. She picked it up and as soon as she started reading, her heart sank into her chest.

_ Dear Jack, _

_ By the time you read this letter, I’ll be gone. Ford has to die, and there’s only one way I can think of to make that happen. He wants me alive, probably because he thinks that he can convince me work for him, and that gives me a chance.  With a little luck, I’ll be able to get close enough to kill the bastard, and even though there’s no way I come back from that, it’s all right. Cerberus is my mess to clean up, and if I have to give my life to make sure it’s gone for good, then that’s a price I’m willing to pay. _

_ But you shouldn’t have to pay it with me.  I wish I could’ve told you this in person, but we both know you would’ve tried to stop me, and I couldn’t allow that.  Words can’t fully express how wonderful this last night was, but it doesn’t mean that you have to die here as well. Get away from this place as soon as you hear that Ford is dead. Find a new life for yourself. I know it will be hard, but you’re strong enough to do it. Stronger than I could’ve imagined when we first met. You deserve to be happy.  _

_ Goodbye and thank you for everything, _

_ Miranda _

Jack threw the note to the ground, her hands going up to rub eyes that were filling with tears. She didn’t know whether to be touched by Miranda’s words or furious with the operative for leaving her behind with nothing but this piece of paper, but either way, she was devastated. 

***

High above the maze of ruined city streets, Miranda Lawson sat before a massive window. The view was spectacular from the top of Ford’s spire but it was hard to appreciate with her hands in cuffs, or in light of her present situation. Despite what she knew was coming though, she didn’t regret a thing. Somewhere down below she imagined Jack was furious for leaving her behind. She hoped it was the case, hoped that the woman she’d come to care for now hated her enough to leave Miranda to her well deserved fate.

_ Whatever keeps her safe.  _

It had been apparent from the second Ford’s men dragged her into the tower that she’d made the right call. Nearly every inch of the building was crawling with troopers and defenses that she and Jack never had any chance of defeating or circumventing. The so-called “Cerberus” forces that occupied the city were pale imitations of the real thing. It was within this building that Cerberus truly survived and perhaps even thrived.

After being paraded before the cameras, she’d been thrown into a lavishly furnished room complete with a synthetic fireplace and king sized bed. The accommodations were undoubtedly selected to put her at ease but she saw the quarters for what they were: a glorified cell. The biotic cuffs around her wrists proved that point quite nicely.

Suddenly the door behind her slid open and Miranda whirled around to see the man himself enter the room with two of his troopers at his side. Anthony Ford supported his weight on a wooden cane, a white flowing beard hanging from his face as he set his gaze upon Miranda. He was dressed in a modified Cerberus outfit that had been made to look like some sort of holy man’s robes. Every inch of the self proclaimed prophet screamed egomaniacal bastard. He reminded Miranda of her father. 

Yet before he spoke, Ford closed the door behind him, reached up, and to Miranda’s surprise, he peeled away the false beard from his face and tossed it aside. When he spoke, he did so in the same careful measured voice she remembered instead of the bombastic “holy man” tone he’d demonstrated in his broadcasts. 

“Operative Lawson. How nice to be able to speak with you again.”

“The feeling’s not mutual, Ford,” she replied. “Especially after that little show you had me pose for.”

Ford chuckled. “I apologize for the theatrics of the broadcast. The people of the city require the proper narrative to understand what’s happening. I’m sure you understand.”

“I understand perfectly,” she said. Miranda had to be careful now. She had to win enough of Ford’s trust to get her opening, but she couldn’t give herself over too quickly or he wouldn’t believe it was genuine. “You used their grief and paranoia to manipulate them into serving you. Do you have any idea what the people are doing down there?” 

“What people have always done,” Ford replied cooly. “Being violent, cruel, and savage in the name of hatred and faith.” 

“You think the fact that it's happened before excuses it?” 

“It’s human nature, Miss Lawson.” Ford chuckled. “I’m surprised the Illusive Man’s right hand would take such issue with our practices.”

“The Illusive Man is dead along with my loyalty to Cerberus. Not that I’d call what you’ve built here ‘Cerberus.’”

“Our people lost a great man but we both know the Illusive Man died long before Commander Shepard put a bullet in him. And Cerberus lost its way, that’s true. But what I’ve started here is a continuation of the same vision we both once shared. An organization with a single objective, the preservation and advancement of the human race.”

“At the cost of our humanity.” Miranda spat. “I’ve seen what you’ve done to the men in your service.” She gestured to the two hulking troopers flanking Ford. 

“We’ve adopted the findings of some of Cerberus’ prior, successful projects on Teltin and Sanctuary. I’ll admit our early results are crude.” Ford looked to his guards, who gave no reply. “ But you cannot deny their promise.”

“Maybe I can’t,” Miranda said, her tone non-committal. “But you’ll have to excuse my skepticism about all of this. Much of the Illusive Man’s research showed promise as well, at least until his creations turned into monsters and the man himself went mad.”

“Which I have not,” Ford said, folding his hands behind his back. “I am quite clear on the distinction between the role I play and the truth.” Indeed, he seemed as cool and collected as one could ask for. Miranda wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse. The deranged preacher he had pretended to be was contemptible, but at least then he would’ve had the excuse of madness for the misery he had created.

Ford turned and walked over to one of the windows.  ”I know that you must find much of this…”  He gestured at the vast expanse of Typhon spread out beneath them, “Distasteful. So do I. But I’m afraid it’s a necessary evil. And there will come a time when the facade can, gradually, be dropped. Human supremacy will ultimately be maintained by science and reason, not blind faith. But it will be won that way. I do not know how aware you are of what has become of the rest of the galaxy since the Reapers were destroyed…”

“I’ve seen enough to know it’s not in good shape.”

“True, but also a vast understatement. Most of the military forces of the galaxy were lost in the final battle against the Reapers and most of the resources their invasion didn’t destroy were committed to the building of the Crucible. Necessary though those sacrifices might have been, what they left behind is famine and ruin, banditry and chaos. Everything around us is distracted, tearing itself to pieces, and if humanity unites and strikes now, we can secure an advantage that will endure for generations. Or we can slide into anarchy along with the rest of the alien trash.”

“And you think you’re the one who can unite us?”

“As you said, the people are frightened and confused at the moment. First, the Alliance ignored the signs of the Reapers’ return and then it failed to protect most of them when the attack came. The only person who might have held the survivor’s respect was Commander Shepard, but he’s gone. Those who remain are weaklings and fools. With these elite forces that I am developing, Cerberus will be ready in six months time to strike a single, shattering blow to the heart of the Alliance, decapitating their leadership and paving the way for our new order.”

Miranda felt a deep unease. Too much of what Ford said was either true or at least plausible. Still, there was one problem with his plan, and she raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You realize that whatever problems people have with the Alliance’s response to the Reapers, Cerberus is far more hated?”

“For now, perhaps. But public opinion is fluid in chaotic times such as these. The people need something to believe in and a great cause to rally behind. After a few more months of the Alliance failing to provide those things, they will be ready for us to fill that void. After all, the Reapers and Cerberus are the enemy now, but when alien pirates begin to descend on their colonies, when the armies left at Earth begin to quarrel…”

_ Then you’ll be ready to preach your brand of hatred, and maybe they’ll be ready to listen,  _ Miranda thought, but she kept such sentiments to herself. Ford needed to believe that she was interested in what he was selling. “So if you have all of this figured out,” she asked, “What do you need me for?”

“Such a bold plan will required a strong leader to implement it. Which is where you come in.”

Miranda was incredulous. Surely Ford hadn’t done all this work building up his cult of personality just to turn his organization over to her. “Me?”

Ford laughed. “Not in the way you may be thinking, Miss Lawson. There’s something I need you to do for me.”

“And why would I help you?”

Ford smirked. “You’re a woman who knows how to get what she wants, Miranda. So I know you’ll be very interested in what I can offer.” He gestured to the cuffs around her wrists. “We can do away with these. I’ll be needing those hands of yours after all.” 

Before she could ponder what that meant, one of the troopers stepped forward.  Miranda steeled herself for a possible opportunity, but the soldier snatched her by the shoulder and forced a tight metal collar around her throat. The device gave her a small electric shock as it was activated. She’d put enough of these collars on test subjects herself to recognize it as a biotic dampener. As the trooper uncuffed her wrists Ford turned to his other guard and outstretched a hand. The trooper handed him a small package wrapped in tightly sealed plastic.

“I brought you a gift. To welcome you home.” He handed the gift to Miranda who sntached it from his hand. She’d worn enough of them over the years to recognize the white catsuit immediately. The Cerberus logo on the breast stared back at her as she shifted her gaze to Ford.

“I must insist you wear it to dinner,” he said with a smile. 

“Dinner?” 

“We have much to discuss.”

***

She sat the end of a long dining table and stared down at her food. Someone had prepared them a delicious looking steak and yet Miranda had done little more than pick at it. She’d spent two decades wearing the Cerberus insignia on her chest and yet now it made her sick to her stomach. 

“The food is not to your liking?” Ford asked. 

“Did you bring me here to be your date? If that’s the case, than I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed by the end of our evening.”

Ford laughed. “Of course not! I had you brought to me because I know you. I know what you’re capable of.”

“You don’t know me,” she protested on reflex. He had known the woman she used to be, and Miranda wanted to believe that wasn’t her anymore.

“Don’t I? I seem to recall spending some time together while you engineered my synthetic heart.” Ford laughed. “Ironic isn’t it? We meet when the Illusive Man ordered you to save my life and we’re reunited when the Alliance ordered you to assassinate me. It seems almost poetic.” 

Miranda simply stared, and Ford continued, “That is what brought you to Typhon isn’t it? You may not work for Cerberus anymore but you’re certainly still an operative. Always looking for orders to follow. So who are you answering to now?” 

“I answer to nobody,” Miranda answered.

Ford ignored her response. “And Subject Zero, you must tell me how she factors into all this.” 

“She hates Cerberus,” Miranda told him, affecting as much of an air of unconcern as she could manage. She “It made her a useful asset for this mission.”

“As you say. It’s only a matter of time before the troops I have scouring the city find her. There’s another bit of irony, I suppose. Teltin’s crown jewel returns to us to be destroyed by the very same weapons she helped to create. ” Miranda clenched her fists under the table. Her heart ached with worry for the woman she’d left behind, but Ford couldn’t know that. It would only be a weakness he could use against both of them.

“Regardless,” Ford continued, “I’m not here to be your enemy, Miranda. Indeed, I’d like for us to be friends.”

“Skip the bullshit, Ford,” Miranda snapped. “You want to make a deal? Well, I can’t do that unless I know something about the terms.  What do you want from me?”

Ford leaned forward and smiled. “I want you to save my life.”

“What do you mean, save your life?” Miranda asked, but she was starting to suspect that she already knew the answer. It was only logical, after all.

“I’m dying. My doctors give me two to three years at most, hardly enough time to see my dreams for humanity’s future come to pass.”

“Your heart. Was it the Crucible that damaged it?”

Ford nodded. “Given that Reaper technology was used in its construction, I suspect that, yes, the Crucible’s pulse has something to do with its slow failure. I’ve had my scientists examine the damage, but frankly, they’re out of their depth. Is it possible they could make the repairs? Certainly. But there’s a better chance that they’d kill me trying. You, on the other hand, are the one who invented and implanted the heart in the first place. The odds are considerably better, and since it’s my life on the line, I’m keen to improve them.”

For once, Miranda deigned to eat. Chewing on a piece of steak gave her a moment to think about the news she had just heard, and to try and conceal her enthusiasm.  _ This is it. This is how I get to him. Of course, he’ll have considered that possibility, and if he’s not convinced I’m willing to save him, I won’t get my chance. _

Once her mouth was empty, she looked back at Ford, trying her best to put a glimmer of enthusiasm behind her eyes. “And in exchange for this service, I would receive what, precisely?”

“Your life, of course,” Ford said, before spearing a piece of his own steak and eating it while Miranda weighed his words.

“And that’s all?” she finally asked.

“No.” Ford dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “For the services of a woman of your talents, I would be prepared to bid considerably higher than mere survival. You were the Illusive Man’s right hand. In time, when we had, shall we say, built trust, you could be mine as well. Wealth and power would come with that. As, of course, would purpose. I know you well enough to know that’s all you’ve ever truly wanted. You’re not like the sheep down there, in need of myths and lies, but like anyone else, you require a reason to live beyond simply existing. Do you think the Alliance will provide that for you?”

“Maybe not,” she admitted, telling the truth for a change. “I’m not exactly popular with them, as you might imagine.”

“Indeed. As long as they are around to drag the name of Cerberus through the dirt, yours will be besmirched as well. But when we return it to glory, well, I’m sure you can imagine the benefits, not only for the human race, but for yourself. When the Alliance sent you here to die, they had no idea what they were throwing away. But I see you for the prize you are, Miss Lawson. You and I may very well be humanity’s only chance for true greatness.”

Miranda took a long, slow sip of the wine. It wouldn’t do to seem too eager, but really, there was really no choice for her. “At some point, I imagine we’ll have some much longer conversations about both my role in the new Cerberus, and our plans for it.”

Ford nodded. “Naturally.”

“Then I think it’s fair to say we have a deal.”


	17. Chapter 17

Cracks of thunder mixed in with the distant boom of explosions before a bolt of lightning flashed in the sky above Typhon. The rain pounded down in heavy drops that drummed on the roof of the abandoned skycar where Jack had sought refuge from the storm. Her wet body shivered from the cold, but her big brown eyes were narrowed into angry slits. Dried blood was caked on her knuckles, the result of her pounding her charged fists into whatever surface she could find. 

She’d spent the hour that followed Ford’s broadcast pacing in the street, mulling over every possible course of action. As much as it had pained her to admit it, Miranda had been right. There was no way they could’ve stormed Ford’s tower together, let alone by herself. The operative had given her life so that Jack might survive. Deep down, she knew that Miranda didn’t want to be saved, that attempting to do so would only get herself killed and make the other woman’s sacrifice pointless.

_ Fuck that. She doesn’t get to decide what I’m willing to die for.  _

It was true that Jack came to Typhon with no real goal beyond taking down as many Cerberus bastards as she could before they killed her, and that when they had left Earth together, she had counted Miranda among those bastards.

But now she had caught feelings for the woman. In fact, she had never felt like this about someone else. Her history of relationships was a brief catalogue of people who used her and screwed her over. Jack didn’t believe in love, but she also knew there was no way she was leaving this planet without Miranda.

Another explosion sounded in the distance as Jack’s thoughts returned to her list of suicidal rescue plans. Yet time after time, she was interrupted by the distant sounds of battle.  _ Can you fuckers knock it off for a minute. I need to figure this shit out. _

Suddenly, her eyes shot open and she sat up straight.  _ That’s it! _

Without a moment’s further hesitation, Jack kicked open the old sky car’s door and ran out into the pouring rain. There had been an answer all along, one Jack had simply missed. She and the cheerleader were not the only two people on that rock who wanted Cerberus dead. 

_ That asari in the prison said there’s a whole fucking camp of aliens ready to kick Cerberus’ ass.  _

Now all she had to do was find them.

_ South district, beyond the wall, dead Reaper on a shopping mall.  _

Alfina’s directions played in her head over and over, Jacking hoping that she remembered them right as she opened her omni-tool’s compass to get a bearing. As she did, she realized that Miranda no doubt had thought of this option too. The fact that she never brought it up told Jack that she never expected it could work. More accurately, she probably never expected herself or Jack to survive the full on assault even with the back-up.

_ Maybe she’s right but I have to try.  _ Jack’s eyes returned to the top of Ford’s tower.  _ Don’t get yourself killed yet, cheerleader. I’m coming. _

_ *** _

“So, what do you think, Miss Lawson? Can it be done?”

Miranda ran a hand through her hair, taking a moment to consider her answer. Her first instinct was to lie and say that the surgery would be extremely dangerous. That way, she might be able to let Ford simply die on the operating table, and pass it off as an accident. But the man doubtless had a good sense of the risks already. If she oversold them, he would realize her game, and not give her a chance to perform the procedure at all.

_ I only get one shot at this. I have to make it work. _

“It’s doable,” she finally told him, “If difficult. The repairs themselves aren’t that complicated. A few components to replace, some tweaks to the circuitry; nothing I can’t handle. The main complication is that, based on your charts, your own cardiac system is too far gone to turn off the artificial heart even temporarily. That means I’ll have to make the repairs while it’s still on, which is certainly trickier than usual. But not impossible.”

“Not for you, anyway,” Ford said. “Which is why I recruited you.”

_ Recruited me? Ah well, let him think this is his idea. _

Miranda tried to restrain a smirk as she closed the data file on the pad and set it down on the table between them. “All right then. When do we do this?”

“In a few hours,” Ford replied. “There are some preparations that have to made, but there’s no point in putting it off any longer than necessary.”

_ I’m glad it’s relatively soon _ , Miranda thought. She had screwed up her courage as best she could; more time to contemplate her impending death wouldn’t make what had to be done any easier. “That’s fine.”

Ford got up from his chair. “While my people get everything ready, why don’t I show you some of the facilities? After all, you're going to be joining us soon, and I want you to get a better idea of what we’re working with here.  Our resources may not be as substantial as those Cerberus possessed at its height, but I still think you’ll be impressed.”

Miranda rose as well. “Most certainly,” she said, trying her best to sound enthused.

The two of them made their way out of the conference room, flanked by a pair of Ford’s omnipresent, silent sentinels. The massive, augmented soldiers were not only a safeguard against Miranda attempting a more conventional sort of murder, but also a reminder of why she had to make this work. She didn’t know what humanity’s future held. After everything that had happened to the galaxy, she worried it wouldn’t be very good, at least for a while. But she couldn’t let it be that: being transformed into monsters to do the bidding of men like Ford.

“So, what are we going to be seeing?” she asked as they made their way onto the elevator. It hardly mattered; after all she wasn’t planning on sticking around long enough to make use of these resources, but it wouldn’t do to let Ford know that.

“The future, Miss Lawson,” Ford replied as the doors to the elevator slid shut behind them. 

“It’s impressive you’ve been able to accomplish anything here given the situation.” 

“It’s more favorable than you might imagine. The Typhon installation was home to sixty of Cerberus’ top minds in addition to thousands of our soldiers. Granted, we lost many men repelling the Reapers’ invasion but we’re steadily rebuilding our numbers thanks to both recruitment and successful experiments like our friends here.”  Ford gestured to the two guards as he hit the elevator button.

“War isn’t won by soldiers alone,” Miranda reminded him. “And even in their current state, the Alliance will easily outnumber any force we could throw at them.” 

“Indeed.” Ford agreed. “Heart and minds. That’s the true path to victory.” 

The elevator doors opened onto a sterile lab. For a moment, Miranda felt as if she’d stepped into a scene from her own past. The laboratory was nearly identical to the one she had called home for several years as she spearheaded some of the Illusive Man’s more daring endeavours. And yet her deja vu was forgotten when she saw the slab of glowing metal on the large central table. The piece shone with a dim, blue light and let out a dull humming noise. 

Ford gestured to it. “You recognize the technology?”

“Reaper?”

Ford nodded. “A piece of the Alpha Relay in fact. After Commander Shepard used it to delay the Reapers and destroy the Bahak system, the Illusive Man had pieces of the relay’s debris brought here for study.” 

“For what purpose?”

“To better understand how the relays work of course. You’ve no doubt heard many of them were destroyed or at least rended inoperable by the Crucible, preventing travel to and from many systems across the galaxy and leaving countless millions stranded. The Alliance and the other races have begun their reconstruction efforts but it will be decades before the relay system is fully operational once more.” Ford led her up to the relay piece's side and continued. “They don’t really know what they’re dealing with. But we do.”

“We’ve understood how the relays function for ages,” Miranda reminded him. Sure it was true there was many unknowns when it came to the details but the basics of their structure and how they facilitated galactic travel had been understood since before humanity ever made its first journey through one.

“Perhaps. But they have many secrets, some of great value.” 

“Such as?” 

“We’ve figured out how to control them. Thanks to study of the Reaper IFF your team on the Normandy recovered for your journey through the Omega Four Relay, we now know how to lock out travelers we deem unworthy or even how to remotely deactivate the relays, just as the Collectors did.” Ford raised his hands for emphasis. “Imagine it, Miss Lawson. Once this technology is operational, we will be able to prevent our enemy from ever leaving their own solar systems. We could hold the keys to galactic travel! Not just for our enemies but for everyone. The people of Earth would look to Cerberus to bring their stranded loved ones home to them and to protect them from alien invaders.”

“If you’ve figured this out already, the Alliance’s reconstruction teams won’t be far behind.” 

“Perhaps. Perhaps not. But for now it’s an ace up our sleeve. And if we can beat the Alliance and its allies to the punch it won’t matter if they would’ve figured it out later.” Ford led her away from the lab and after a short walk down a gleaming corridor Miranda found herself in a vastly different space. They stood in a large, white room completely void of anything except for a strange, translucent tube at its center which rose to approximately waist height.  

“And this is?” Miranda asked dryly.

“This? This is how we win the coming war, Miranda.” Ford reached into his jacket and removed an OSD drive before he plugged it into the access dock rising from the center of the room. Instantly a holoprojector was activated and the room was filled with dozens of screens, making the once-empty space feel cramped. It was a sight Miranda found dismayingly familiar, but Ford merely turned to her and smiled. 

“This is Cerberus.”

The glow of the screen cast a orange light on Miranda’s face as she scanned the information feeds on display. She knew what she was looking at, knew what it meant before Ford could even explain.

“Cerberus did not die with the Illusive Man,” Ford began. “Before Thessia was invaded, he prepared for every eventuality, including his own defeat. He assembled every resource, every bit of intel, every asset the organization had gathered over the years and archived them all into an encrypted network that can only be accessed by this device.” Ford gestured to the OSD.

“I understand you may not like me, Miss Lawson. You may even hate me for the horrors you no doubt witnessed during your journey here. But this goes far beyond just us. Think of the good we could do for humanity with this information, with this power. Miranda, with Cerberus’ backing you cured death itself!” Ford stepped forward. “Think of what we could accomplish together with this. We could reshape the galaxy with the intel Cerberus gathered on the Reapers and their technology alone!”

“And I’m assuming that alone isn’t all you have.”

“Not at all,” Ford said confidently. “Hidden bank accounts, as-yet unrevealed sleeper agents, intelligence on many of the Alliance’s highest-ranking members… This drive unlocks an incredible treasure trove. As I said before, the Illusive Man was a genius. That brilliance was overwhelmed by his obsession with the Reapers, but before his madness took hold, he had been preparing plans that would have led to Cerberus assuming total power over the human race by more conventional means. Means that have now come to me. To us, when you rejoin the fold.”

“That is quite an impressive cache of data,” she replied, and Miranda had to admit to herself that not all of her awe was feigned. Ford really did have an shocking array of tools at his disposal. As weak as the Alliance was at the moment, she wasn’t sure if they would survive a well-coordinated attack led by this new Cerberus, once it was ready. 

_ But will it survive him?  _ She found herself wondering if killing Ford would be enough to bring down what he had built here. There was no way to know for sure, but she found some consolation in the fact that he was recruiting her to be his right hand. That meant he didn’t already have one, which hopefully would lead to a destructive power struggle after he was dead.  _ It doesn’t really matter, I suppose. I’ve already set myself on this path; there’s nothing to do now but walk it to the end. _

“I’m glad you think so. Because soon enough, you will be aiding me in...” She never got to find out what the rest of Ford’s sentence would’ve been. Without warning, he lurched forward, letting out an agonized grunt as he clutched at his chest. His two guards tensed and Miranda moved toward him, trying her best to simulate concern.

“Is it your heart?” she asked, offering an arm for him to lean on.

Ford didn’t take it. Instead, he straightened back up, his eyes opening and closing several times in rapid succession as he fought to blink back the pain he must have been feeling. “It is. It will pass, but the attacks are becoming more rapid as your handiwork fails, so I’m afraid that our tour will have to be cut short. But you have seen enough already. In my office, you suggested you were prepared to make a deal. Does that willingness still hold? Will you help me? Will you play your part in the rise of humanity to heights never before seen? Or will both of us die here on this squalid little world?”

Miranda did was expected of her. With a nod, she said, “Well, when you put it that way, I think the former option sounds rather more appealing.”

“As I thought,” Ford said, forcing a smile onto his face. “After all we are both survivors, Miss Lawson.  I’m going to prepare myself for the surgery.” He nodded to one of the guards. “This gentleman will escort your back to your room, where you’ll get all of the updated medical data you’ll need to perform the procedure. When I see you again, it will be time for us to usher in a new age of Cerberus.”

_ No, _ Miranda thought to herself as Ford turned to leave,  _ When you see me again, we’ll both be about to die. _

***

The storm hadn’t subsided during Jack’s long trek to the city’s outer walls. If anything, the rain had grown heavier, yet she didn’t let it slow her down. By the time she came to a stop before the the massive structure, her lungs burned in her chest, and her soaking wet clothes clung uncomfortably to her body.

It was an ugly thing she was resting in front of. The stupid, Cerberus-loving civies who called the godforsaken city home must have cobbled the barrier together in the early days of the alien rebellion out of anything they could find, and now it was also decorated with the blood of soldiers and civilians, aliens and human alike.

_ And I just made own my little contribution.  _ Jack’s fists ceased glowing as she looked down at the two dead Cerberus troopers she had finished massacring. The fools had thought they could guard the wall from her.  _ Fucking idiots.  _

As Jack holstered her weapon, she lost herself in thought. Her whole life could have been defined as being nothing more than a never ending battle against Cerberus. They created her, tortured her, stripped her of any humanity, and just when she began to think herself rid of them, Commander Shepard and Miranda Lawson rode into her life and recruited her to fight alongside them. And now Cerberus had returned from the dead to fuck her over one last time. The sad truth of it was, Jack didn’t know who she was without Cerberus. They took everything from her, but in a way they also had given her a purpose, and now they had given her Miranda.

_ And what exactly am I doing with her? _

Jack pondered that question as she squeezed her way through a large crack in the wall that battle had carved there. She once believed that getting attached to another person was weakness. That in the end people always let you down, especially the ones you cared for most. And now, at last, she had the opportunity she used to dream of as a little girl on Pragia. She could be free from Cerberus, from everything that had once tied her down. All she had to do was find herself a ship and do exactly what Miranda asked: leave it all behind. Yet Jack wouldn’t even consider it. She didn’t want the life of freedom and solitude she had once yearned for. Now she found herself hoping for a different life altogether.

Such daydreams vanished as soon as she reached the other side of the wall. A revolting stench hit her so hard that she had to choke back the vomit creeping up into her throat. It hadn’t just been the aliens these walls had been constructed to keep out, Jack realized as she cupped her hand over her nose and looked at the piles of rotting corpses heaped in front of her. Some of them were fresh kills the people had tossed over the barrier but the majority of them Jack recognized as the fallen armies of the Reapers. The Cannibals and Husks had decayed slowly in the months following their deaths and their bloated flesh made their already ghastly appearances even worse. She saw dead Brutes and other elites troops scattered across the battlefield as well, even a Banshee. The skin had been stripped clean from the monster, leaving the freakishly distorted asari skull on full display.  However, it was not these rotting beasts that truly caught her attention, but the heroes who had died fighting them.

All across the ground, Jack saw the bodies of human men and women, most of them dressed in Cerberus combat armor. There were hundreds of them and every last one had died fighting for the lives of the innocent colonists who had fled to the inner city during the invasion. Finally Jack realized how the people of this planet came to view the organization she loathed as their savior.

A crack of thunder sounded a moment later followed by a bolt of lighting which briefly illuminated the night sky. Beyond the legion of the dead that laid before her Jack saw the the towering corpse of a Reaper resting up against a large building in a clearing not far away.

_ That’s it. I hope. _

Jack wasted no time sprinting through the bodies beneath her. She’d been running on and off for hours and yet nothing would slow her down now. She was so close, just 200 or so yards away from her target: an old shopping mall that looked surprisingly intact given the massive Reaper that lay atop it. Yet just when she could see the entrance to the structure, a squadron of soldiers leapt forward from a trench about ten yards ahead of her. 

Jack halted but her body glowed bright with biotics as the figures aimed their rifles at her. Another flash of lightning revealed to her that the people holding her at gunpoint now were not Cerberus. In fact, they were not even human. 

One of the alien rebels screamed over the storm, “Who the hell are you, human?!” 

“What’s it matter?” another cried. “She’s human! She’s Cerberus! We should kill her now.” 

“I am not with fucking Cerberus!” Jack shouted back.

“No? Then what are you doing beyond the wall?!” the leader of the gang demanded as she stepped forward from the pack, her aim still steady on Jack’s torso.

“I need your help,” Jack admitted.

“With what?” the alien asked. She wore a helmet with a face mask like the rest of her soldiers, making it impossible to tell exactly who she was or what she was thinking.

“Destroying Cerberus once and for all,” Jack answered as the alien finally came to a stop before her.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” the woman said once she had finally gotten a good look at the human. “You haven’t gotten yourself killed yet?” 

She reached up and removed her helmet, making Jack smirk when she recognized the asari’s face beneath it. “You’re Alfina right? From the prison?” 

Alfina nodded. “And you’re one of the humans who saved my life.”  The asari turned to her squad. “Lower your damn weapons! She’s with us.”


	18. Chapter 18

“So,” Alfina asked as Jack shook the water out of her damp hair, “What brings you to our little corner of paradise?”

The description was clearly intended to be ironic. The ruined mall wasn’t exactly the luxury hotel on Illium Jack had used pilfered Cerberus credits to stay in while Shepard chased up new squad members. The place had been garish to begin with and now the furnishings were in disrepair, and the lights kept flickering on and off. But it was warm and dry, and more importantly, it was filled with warriors of every stripe taking their rest. Asari and turians predominated, but plenty of others were there as well, and at the sight of them, Jack allowed herself to hope. There was more strength here than she’d guessed, and maybe, just maybe, it would be enough.

“I’m here for all this,” she said, nodding in the direction of the small army. “To use it to take down Cerberus, once and for all.”

The asari chuckled and shook her head. “Yeah, we all want that,” Alfina agreed, “But that doesn’t mean it’s actually gonna happen. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but they’re pretty well dug into that tower of theirs.”

“So, if you’re not going to take them on, what’s all this shit for? A big o’l slumber party?”

Alfina laughed, her broad chest rising and falling. “I like you, human. And we are going to take the war to Cerberus. But not yet. Not until the time is right.”

“The time is right now!” she insisted, drawing herself up as high as she could manage, though she still only came to Alfina’s neck.

“Why? What’s the rush?”

_ Because they’re gonna kill the fucking cheerleader _ , Jack thought, but that wasn’t a reason she could give Alfina. The asari might have been grateful for their instigation of the breakout at the prison, but it wasn’t fair to ask her to go on a suicide mission just because Miranda had gone and gotten her ass captured. But maybe there was another reason that would suffice, one that impacted all of them.

“Because Cerberus is only gonna get more dangerous if we don’t stop them now.”

“What do you mean?” Alfina asked. She sounded legitimately curious though, not dismissive, and so Jack pressed again.

“Well, I’m guessing your people have been coming up against some special Cerberus soldiers the last couple of days. Big, use biotics, creepy as fuck…”

For once, Alfina looked a bit unsettled. “Yeah, I’ve heard the stories. They’re bad news. Every one we’ve managed to take down has cost us way too much. But that’s all the more reason to wait until we’ve gotten a better handle on how to deal with them.”

“Yeah, well, you’d better be figuring out how to deal with  _ a lot _ of them. ‘Cause I’m pretty sure Cerberus is breeding those sons of bitches in that tower of theirs and if we don’t dig them out of it now, you’re gonna be overrun pretty soon.”

Alfina sighed, looking tired. “Goddess help us, this was supposed to get better. The Reapers were dead, the war was over, and I thought we could go home. Try to forget all this bullshit, rebuild our lives…”

“I know what you mean.” Jack shook her head ruefully. “I thought these Cerberus fuckers were done when their boss went down. But now it’s up to us to make sure they’re down for good.”

Alfina let out a sigh as she led Jack down a narrow hall and into a more secluded room. “Look, human, if it were up to me I’d love nothing more than to tear apart every last one of the bastards.”

Jack jutted her chin in the direction of the rest of the mall. “Thought this was your show here?”    
  
Alfina just shook her head. “These people follow my bondmate as much as me, if not more. Before Cerberus nabbed me, I was the one in charge of the action, but now, not so much.”

“Bondmate? What’s that? Like your girlfriend or something?”

“More like what you humans call a wife. But while Seris and I might be together, we don’t always see eye to eye. When you helped spring us out of the Kennel, I was ready to go to war but when we got back here…” Alfina sighed and leaned up against the wall. “Not everyone wants to fight. Some of them just want to find a ship and get off this rock for good. I can’t exactly blame them either.”

“Well, how many people could we get to storm Ford’s tower with us?” 

Alfina threw up a hand. “We? Whoa there, human. Who said anything about me getting myself killed in your suicide run?”

Jack jabbed a finger into Alfina’s chest. She’d been trying her best to be reasonable, but her fear for Miranda was making her give free reign to her anger. “We saved your ass back at the Kennel! You owe us, and it’s time to settle up.” 

“And how would I do that? By running headfirst into my death? Even if we had hundreds of soldiers on our side, Ford stays at the top of his little fortress. So say we rush the entrance, get past the defenses, and somehow get inside. We still need to fight our way up the whole fucking tower! You said it yourself, they’re building those troops in there so who knows how many they’ve got?”

“So all that talk about bringing the fight to Cerberus was what? Just bullshit?” 

Alfina smacked Jack’s hand away from her chest. “I’m not saying I’m not on board with taking the battle to them. Just that we need a better plan than running straight into death. There’s no way to get to Ford outside of fighting our way up, so if that was to happen we’d need to be smart about it. And we won’t get shit without Seris’ agreement.” 

Jack paced back and forth. “Well you’re the one who fucks her right? Can’t you convince her somehow?”

“Maybe.” Alfina shrugged. “Seris does what’s in the people’s best interests. If what you say is true, then maybe it is best to strike now.”

Jack twisted the bottom of her ratty shirt between her hands as she wrung out the rain water. “We have to do it,” she muttered.

“Why’s it so important to you anyway? I get that you want them dead, but are you really so keen to die doing it?” Alfina paused, looking Jack up and down as she considered something she hadn’t before. “So, where’s the other one?”

“What’re you talking about?”

“The pretty human who was with you last time. Did she get herself killed? Is that why you want revenge on them so badly?” 

“Miranda’s not dead!” Jack insisted definitely, though whether she was really trying to convince Alfina or herself was harder to say.

Alfina put her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Then where is she now?”

“She’s…” Jack hesitated before she spoke. If she told Alfina what had happened to Miranda, the asari might think conclude this was just some personal quest and bail. And yet, could she really lie her way out of this mess?  _ The cheerleader’s the slick operative. I’m no good at that bullshit. Let’s just try the truth.  _  “They’ve got her.”

“Cerberus captured your friend?”

“Kind of. Miranda, she…” The words didn’t come easily to Jack, but she made herself say them. “She turned herself over to them. She’s trying to get close enough to Ford to kill him.”

“Well, good for her. But then what do you need our help for?”

“‘Cause they’ll kill her afterward,” she spat back, trying not to show just how much that thought frightened her. She  _ had  _ to sound reasonable. “And ‘cause this is our shot. After their crazy-ass leader is dead, Cerberus will be disorganized for a little while. We can go in and fuck them up while they’re still trying to figure out what’s going on. But if we wait here, they’ll just find some new fuckhole to take over for Ford, and pretty soon you’ll be right back in the fryer.”

Alfina’s hands interlaced, the fingers of one tapping against the back of the other as she considered Jack’s words. “Do you think she can pull it off?” she finally asked. “Because if she can, then an attack might actually make sense. But if she fails, we’ll be putting our tits in the wringer for nothing. And if our soldiers fall, Cerberus will have no problem wiping out all the innocent people here we’re trying to protect.”

It was without hesitation that Jack replied, “Fuck, yeah. Miranda will find a way.”

***

Miranda felt a curious stillness come over her as she walked into the operating room and looked down at the old man laying on the table in front of her. She was overcome by a sense that her entire life had brought her to this moment. Running away from home with her infant sister. Turning to the Illusive Man for protection. Heading the Lazarus Project. Betraying Cerberus to stand with Shepard. Accepting this mission from the Alliance. All of it had led up to this: a final chance to balance the scales, to destroy the organization that had defined so much of her life.

_ Or to rejoin them _ , a voice within her whispered. Before coming to his tower, she hadn’t realized just how vast the resources at Ford’s disposal were. Certainly, the man was reprehensible, the excesses he had allowed this new Cerberus of his to commit, vile. But the organization could be remolded. If she repaired Ford’s heart, and took her place as his right hand, she would have time to arrange a coup that someday could remove him and leave her in control. She could use all of that power to make a better world, really better, as she had once dreamed of.  

_ And yet, how would Jack react if learned that I re-joined Cerberus? Could I really do that to her? _

There was no time for her to further consider the question. The other doctors and nurses were looking to her for the signal to begin the procedure. In some of their eyes she read enthusiasm, behind others, mistrust.  _ Perhaps they guess what I have planned. How will they react if my betrayal is revealed? If I really do go through with this, I had best go down fighting then _ , she concluded.  _ Otherwise my death will neither be pleasant or quick. _

One of the men stepped forward, and though an operating mask obsured his face, she could still sense he was one of those who mistrusted her. “Ms. Lawson. My name is Doctor Henry Keller. I understand you’re the woman who invented the device we’re going to repair.” 

“That’s right,” she replied, mirroring his coolness.

“I’ve studied it for quite some time now and yet elements of its design are still alien to me,” Keller said. “You must be a brilliant woman to have designed it, so I shouldn’t have to tell you that if anything happens to Anthony Ford…” He gestured to the four armed guards standing directly behind Miranda and said nothing more. 

“If you’re finished making self-evident threats, I’d like to get started,” Miranda replied without a trace of fear in her voice. She outstretched her hand to the man. “Omni-Saw.”

The doctor gave her one more suspicious glare before hesitantly handing the tool to her. As Miranda powered the device on and the orange glowing blade manifested with a buzz, she felt her nerves tingle. Ford laid out before her utterly exposed. The mask over his face and the blue sheet covering most of his body somehow made it hard to see him as the power hungry mastermind she’d learned about in her time on Typhon. 

_ Could there be more to him then that? _

Miranda had certainly believed she’d been doing the right thing for years, living in comfortable ignorance. Perhaps Ford was a bit like her, wanting to believe in the promise of Cerberus and not the reality of its actions.

_ Though after all the horrors I’ve seen on this planet, he can hardly be innocent. _

She brought the omni-blade to her patient’s sternum and began to saw through the tough layer of bone there. As the energy blade sunk in, Miranda allowed herself to reflect on a more innocent time in her life, when she might have been disgusted by the sight of a man being cut open.

But just because she’d been innocent didn’t mean she’d been happy. Miranda had only one pleasant memory from her childhood; just one. She could still feel the sting of her father’s hand on her cheek, as well as the stunned look in his eyes when he came running out of their house in the middle of the night to see Miranda carrying Oriana in her arms. It was a moment she still found deeply satisfying. And that feeling when her car left the ground, giving her the first taste of freedom she’d ever known... Chasing that feeling had been enough to push her into the Illusive Man’s arms.

_ Was it really a mistake, though?  _

Miranda pondered that question as she spread Ford’s ribs, opening up his chest cavity. Certainly, she’d done horrible things for Cerberus; she had no illusions about the kind of woman she truly was. But there had also been times when Cerberus’ potential for good had been realized. They’d advanced human medical science by leaps and bounds in a few short years, gathered priceless intelligence on the Reapers, and of course, there was Shepard and the  _ Normandy _ . Humanity and the rest of the galaxy might not want to admit it, but Miranda knew that had it not been for Cerberus, the Reapers would have never been stopped.

There had been more to her loyalty than blind faith. Once upon a time Cerberus did stand for something good.

_ Perhaps it could again.  _

The heart was constructed using a synthetic flesh she developed and later used in Shepard’s reconstruction. It looked real enough from the outside but the inside was a concentrated hub of technological wonders that could have only come from a brilliant mind such as hers. It had been the Illusive Man that first believed in her, that first gave her the tools to fulfill her potential and create marvels like that device keeping her enemy alive. 

_ And now Ford is offering me another one. _

Could she really throw that away? Could the galaxy really afford to lose Cerberus? The questions stuck in her mind as she stared down at Ford’s beating heart. 

_ Time to choose. _

***

Seris wasn’t quite what Jack had expected. Buff and badass as Alfina was, she’d assumed that the bondmate who’d taken over command of the rebels from her must be one tough motherfucker. Instead, she’d found a skinny, round-faced asari no taller than herself, who looked more like a hostess at some Ilium hotel than a hardened killer. As she looked into her deep, purple eyes, though, Jack could see an iron determination that gave some hint as to her real strength.

“Alfina says you want us to take the fight to Cerberus.”

“Yeah.” Jack put her hands on her hips, meeting the asari’s powerful gaze without flinching. “That’s pretty much the idea. You two, me, and as many of your people as we can round up storm that fucking tower and blow Ford to kingdom come.”

“Look, Jack,” Seris said, not unkindly.  “You seem like a decent enough human. And I really appreciate what you did back at the prison, rescuing my bondmate from that Cerberus hell.” Seris reached over and gave Alfina’s shoulder a squeeze that made the taller asari smile down affectionately at her. “But if we do this, a lot of my people are going to die, win or lose. And too many of them have already been killed in this war.”

Jack shook her head. “I know. It fucking sucks. But we’ve got no choice. Either we take Cerberus out now or they grow so many of those mutant freaks that there’s no way you or anybody can find a ship and clear away all the crap around the relay before they hunt you down and kill you.”

Seris turned to Alfina, giving her a quizzical look. “Do you believe that’s true?”

Alfina shrugged. “She’s worried about her friend, this Miranda, but yeah, I believe she believes it. Past that, it’s hard to tell the truth. These Cerberus bastards are pretty hard to figure out. But you know how dangerous their new elites are. How many of our people they’ve killed already. And they did only show up just recently. If there’s any chance they’re pumping out more of them…”

“Then we’ve got to stop them first.” Seris nodded and took a deep breath, clearly coming to a decision. “All right, Jack. We’ll do it your way. But I hope you know what’s at stake here.”

“I do.”  Jack felt the horrible, frightened knot that had formed inside of her stomach when she first saw Miranda on that vid-screen untie itself, at least a little bit.  _ Now we have a fighting chance. _ She clenched and unclenched her fist, steeling herself for what was coming next. “So, what’ve we got to work with here?”

“There’s about 1000 people here in the mall,” Seris told her, “But only about half that number are fit to fight. Still, we’ve got plenty of biotics here, and we’ve managed to scavenge up a fair amount of heavy weapons to arm them with. And, of course, there’s our little surprise…”

Jack wasn’t sure what Seris was hinting at but she could see Alfina’s eyes light up at the prospect. “It’s ready? I thought we still needed parts.”

“We did. But there’s been a lot of progress since you’ve been gone, honey.” 

Alfina laughed, and for once she seemed genuinely excited. “All right then, babe. Let’s round up the troops. It’s time to give these Cerberus bloodsuckers the fight of their lives.”


	19. Chapter 19

Miranda Lawson was a woman who rarely made mistakes. In her years spent working on dozens of Cerberus operations, she had gained a reputation among her co-workers for having the annoying habit of always being right. Doubt was, for her, a decidedly alien feeling. Yet it was creeping up on Miranda now.

She paced back and forth across the lavish bedroom that had been provided her. Her eyes drifted to the locked door with every turn as she thought on her decision. Each time her eyes she looked at the entrance, her pulse would quicken. 

_ I had to do it,  _ she told herself once more as she turned on her heel. Yet despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help wondering what Shepard would have done in her place. It was all too obvious what decision Jack would have made. The thought of her former partner curled her lips into a slight smile and her eyes turned to the spectacular view of the ruined city below her massive window.

_ Wherever you are, Jack, stay safe.  _

That was one decision Miranda had no doubts about. Whether she realized it or not Jack had a real future ahead of her. Certainly brighter than the one Miranda could look forward to. She pictured the biotic finding herself another teaching job on Earth somewhere, the awkward years settling into a normal life; above all she pictured Jack happy.

_ If anyone deserves it, it’s you. You’ve been through so much. _

Before Miranda’s sentimentality could get the best of her she was frozen in place by the sound of her door sliding open. She kept her back to the entrance and her eyes glued to the view of the city below as she heard a set of footsteps enter behind her. 

A calm voice greeted her. “Ms. Lawson, I believe I owe you my life.” 

Miranda turned to see Anthony Ford standing in her doorway, his posture perfectly straight despite the lack of his cane.

“So it seems.” 

Ford stepped inside. “I’ll confess I had my doubts about you.” 

“Yet you let me do the surgery anyway?” 

“Mankind was built upon the shoulders of those who were willing to take risks. I’d like to think that one day people may look back and see you and I as two of them.” 

“Is that what this is all about to you? Leaving a legacy?”

Ford cracked a smile. “You’ll have to forgive my ego. I fear it may rear its ugly head more than a few times during the course of our partnership.” He walked over to the window and stopped, joining her in staring down at the city. “I hardly recognize it anymore.”

She turned to face the man but Ford kept his gaze locked on the ruined skyline. “I was stationed on Typhon for years before the Reapers arrived. It was a beautiful colony. I wish you could have seen it before it fell into such a state. I wish you could have seen how our people fought for it.”

Miranda found herself curious to hear his side of the tale and so she asked, “What happened?”

“Besides the Reapers? The colonists’ fear and desperation turned them into beasts, the aliens most of all. The turians made up the second largest portion of the planet’s population. They started the riots and the other non-humans were quick to join in on the slaughter. They hated humanity because the Alliance abandoned their colony in its greatest hour of need. It wasn’t long after that that the whole city was consumed by one giant race war and we were forced to come out of the shadows to put a stop to it. Some of the remaining alien forces continued to meddle in our affairs and so we made examples of them to keep the peace.”

“I don’t want to think about how many good people died in as a result of the senseless violence those savages begun. Between the Reapers and the aliens, our numbers had begun to dwindle, which forced us to explore alternative methods of recruiting, as you’ve seen. That was just four months ago and already our forces have nearly recovered. Just picture what we could do with two years.”

“It’s an interesting image,” Miranda granted, trying her best to seem as if she shared Ford’s enthusiasm.  “You’ll have to explain more to me about the process behind their creation.”

“Oh certainly, Miss Lawson. We’ve made great progress already, but I look forward to seeing what suggestions you have to offer.” 

“I am curious about one other thing,” Miranda admitted. 

“And what might that be?”

“Why did the Illusive Man give you all of that Cerberus data? It’s a tremendous amount of power for him to have trusted someone else with.”

Ford smiled fondly. “The Illusive Man and I were… kindred spirits. I knew the day I met him that he would achieve great things.”

“And you truly believe there’s still hope for Cerberus to be reborn? To fulfill that dream?” 

He nodded. “ Beyond any doubt. I’m sure that together, we can achieve...”

Ford never finished his sentence. He was midway through making an expansive gesture when suddenly his hand flew to his chest, clutching at it as his face contorted into an agonized rictus. A violent cough brought up blood that erupted past his lips and dripped down his chin. He fell to his knees, his other hand reaching out toward her as another spurt of blood trickled down his face and pooled on the ground beneath him.

Miranda wasn’t sure if it was an attempt to lash out at her, or to beg for assistance, but she didn’t care. No doubt Ford’s mutant sentinels were just outside the room, and if she was going to retain even a slim hope of survival, she had to act quickly.

Rather than offer assistance, Miranda drove her foot into Ford’s chest, kicking him over onto his back. He continued to twitch and gurgle up a mixture of phlegm and blood, but she paid it no mind. Ford had only moments left to live, but there was something Miranda needed from him before he expired. Bending down, she brushed aside his flailing hands, patting down his body until she found what she was looking for. Her search revealed a small plastic object that she removed from his belt and brought up to her neck.  Miranda fitted it into a slot on her collar and the metal restraint snapped open, letting letting her throw it off.

As the collar clattered to the floor, Ford finally managed to say something in-between his dying gasps, choking out, “Why?”

Miranda stared down at the dying man with cold, unfeeling eyes. “Because I’ve made enough moral compromises in the name of some greater good already. Because I couldn’t look her in the face if I made this one. And above all...because you deserve it.”

Ford may not have understood what she was talking about, but that not longer mattered. His final words were drowned out in a fit of bloody coughing, and even if he had been able to reply, Miranda had no time to listen.  Yet before she could make her getaway, something caught her eye. Just beyond the grasp of Ford’s clutching hand sat an OSD that had fallen from his breast pocket during his cardiac arrest. Miranda looked down at the sum of the organization she had devoted her life to. Every bit of the Illusive Man and Cerberus’ discoveries, funding and assets were there, contained in a single drive. With one step Miranda could crush the last true remnant of Cerberus.

A booted foot hovered over the device. One step and she could end it all. Yet it never came down. As Ford’s final breaths escaped him, Miranda bent down on one knee and picked up the device instead. Without sparring Ford a further glance, she tucked the OSD away in her catsuit and dashed to the doors of her quarters. They opened for her, revealing two hulking Cerberus mutants.

“Help!” she cried out, doing her best to sound genuinely distressed. “You need to get help! Ford has collapsed. I think it’s bad.”

Fortunately, whatever process gave the Cerberus elites their tremendous strength didn’t seem to have had a similar effect on their mental acuity. In that moment, all they appeared to realize was that their master was in danger. One of them rushed into her quarters in search of Ford while the other opened up a comm link to report the emergency.

_ Not that it will do Ford any good.  _ The sabotage had been, if she could be so bold as to say it, some of her best work. Not only had she arranged it so that the heart wouldn’t fail until well after they were out of the OR, she had made sure that when it did, Ford would be dead before anyone could do anything about it.

As she ran down the corridor, Miranda felt her heart pounding in her chest. She doubted that Ford’s followers would be inclined to wait for an autopsy before the started assigning blame. Once they found out that their savior was dead, they’d guess the truth, and then she’d die by inches, at least if she didn’t move very, very quickly.

Taking the elevator was, she decided, a bad idea. If Cerebus cut the power halfway down, she’d be trapped, and whatever happened, she wasn’t going to let them take her alive. The stairs it had to be, and so she threw open a metal door and began to bound down them, three at a time.

Her breath came in short gasps, but he didn’t allow herself to recognize the likely futility of her escape attempt as she descended the concrete stairs.   _ Keep moving, dammit. Just keep moving.  _

Miranda made it down six floors before the doors to the next level flew open to reveal a squad of troopers with rifles aimed at her. She didn’t even blink before she shot one hand forward and unleashed a biotic pulse that threw the armored goons like ragdolls back into the corridor they had come from.

Before they had a chance to recover, Miranda leapt down into another flight of stairs, but when she leaned over the guardrail, she saw a second squad of men galloping up to greet her. Her hands glowed bright blue as she gritted her teeth. It wouldn’t matter how many she took out, they would just keep coming until she was overwhelmed. She took a moment to look around at her surroundings and took a deep breath.

After everything she’d been through: her father, Cerberus, the  _ Normandy _ , even Jack, Miranda never imagined it would end here in a dirty stairwell on a burned-out colony. She tightened her glowing fists. She might have been about to die, but she had no intention of making it easy on her killers.

She jumped back from the guardrail as a hail of gunfire erupted from below. The bullets soared up through the open center of the stairwell even as the first squadron of soldiers regained their footing on the floor above her. Miranda went for them first. Before the closest trooper could react, she yanked him off the ground and tossed him down towards the soldiers climbing the stairs toward her. The armored man collided with another trooper with enough force to leave them both stunned and both squads responded with a coordinated blast of biotics and bullets that Miranda only narrowly avoided by diving to the ground. 

The concrete walls were shredded by the blast, causing smoldering bits of stone to rain down on Miranda. She gritted her teeth as she felt a bullet graze her back, the impact only partially stopped by her barriers. When the bullets finally stopped flying, Miranda’s ears were ringing so badly she couldn’t hear a thing as she leapt to her feet. 

She threw a flare with both hands, letting out a fierce battle cry as the biotic explosion tore through the men above her before they could reload fresh clips into their weapons. She tossed attack after attack as they dived for cover, ignoring her temporary deafness and the aching pain that was developing in the base of her skull as she pushed her abilities past their limits. Biotic strikes landed like machine gun fire from her hands as she backed down the stairs. Yet by the time she turned her attention to the second group of hostiles, it was already too late. A bullet tore through her shoulder, pain searing her body as blood dripped down her shoulder.

Miranda fell to the ground, and as she tumbled down the stairs, she felt a handful of her ribs crack. Her chin slammed down on the hard stone and her teeth bit into her tongue before she rolled to a stop at the next floor of the seemingly endless stairwell. Blood filled her mouth, drowning her scream of agony as she pushed the palm of her hand against the oozing wound in her shoulder. She knew she couldn’t last another minute without armor, or back-up, and neither was at hand. 

_ You always knew this would be a suicide mission.  _

_ *** _

“So, what do you think of my baby?”

In response to Alfina’s question, Jack could only grin. The wind was whipping through her short hair, and below her, the ruins of the city were spread out in a giant, blasted tableaux. From this high vantage point, it felt as if she was some sort of primitive goddess, capable of doing anything she wished with the world beneath her. 

_ Even rescuing stupid Miranda before she gets her dumb ass killed.  _ A part of her was still angry with the operative for having run off like that, but before she could yell at Miranda, she had to rescue her first.

“I think this is one bad-ass gunship,” she replied, trying to keep her fears to one side. “These Cerberus fuckers aren’t gonna know what hit ‘em.”

“They’d better not,” Seris said cooly from behind the controls, not as caught up as her bondmate in the excitement of the moment. “We’ve got a fairly impressive strike force with us, but if Cerberus is properly prepared, it still won’t be enough.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jack insisted, hoping she sounded confident. “The cheerleader will take care of Ford and we’ll take out the rest of his buddies while they’re still trying to figure out what happened.”

Alfina furrowed her brows in confusion. “The cheerleader?”

Jack laughed at the incongruity of the question under the circumstances. “It’s just a dumb human thing. Don’t worry about it.”

“We won’t,” Seris said matter-of-factly, her vision fixed on the gunship’s navigation system. “We’ll be coming up on the first target any minute now, so get ready.”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” Jack chuckled, summoning up a biotic field around herself. “I’m always ready to kick some Cerberus ass.”

“Likewise.” Alfina cocked her assault rifle and took up a firing position by the side door of the gunship.

Seconds later, the first sounds of gunfire crackled through the air. Jack tensed automatically, but at least for now, they weren’t coming close to her. The gunship wasn’t that high in the air, remaining in position to support the ground forces, but it seemed that Cerberus didn’t have any weapons to spare for them. Looking down, Jack saw that the first wave of the alien rebels had made contact with the outer line of Cerberus soldiers who stood between them and the skyscraper. A mixed horde of turians, asari and more were swarming over the shocked Cerberus troopers, overwhelming them with a mixture of numbers, firepowers, and the element of surprise.

Whether or not Miranda had gotten to Ford, it was clear that Cerberus wasn’t expecting a counter-attack on this scale. A few of the aliens fell to their defensive fire, but they were far outweighed by the losses on the enemy side. Jack did her part, tossing down biotic blasts, as Alfina’s assault rifle chipped in as well, while the gunship’s heavy weapons took a heavier toll.

It didn’t take long before the Cerberus lines had collapsed completely. Blood and metal were left sprawled across the shattered barricades, and the few survivors were scattering back into the ruined city. Some of the aliens made as if to pursue, but Seris opened up her omni-tool, and barked down, “Let them go! We’ve got to keep moving before Cerberus realizes what’s going on.”

For the most part, the aliens seemed to listen. Their lines reformed, and as one, they continued their advance onward toward the looming tower in the distance. It had taken Miranda and Jack days to traverse the city in their journey to Ford’s tower yet the rebel’s army fought their way through the city blocks in a matter of hours. They’d taken some losses but even Ford’s troopers were not able to survive the combination of their numbers and the onslaught of fire from the gunship.

At last they were flying above the circular ring of high rises that surrounded the tower, but the Seris held back as she got a good look at what awaited them. “Shit!” she spat. It seemed that Cerberus had, at last, realized the scale of their peril and organized a proper defensive line. Dozens of troopers guarded the entrance to the tower with high powered weapons and two manned turrets pointed directly at the bottleneck the rebels would have to push through in order to reach it. 

“I guess we’ve used up the element of surprise,” Alfina said grimly before she opened her comm. “Ground team, the enemy is dug in around the tower. Prepare for a real fight!” Jack grabbed an Avenger from the gun rack inside the ship and extended the barrel, while Alfina turned to the cockpit. “Let’s light ‘em up, babe!”

With a whir, the gunship’s cannon spun up, and as they flew through the gap in the buildings, it unleashed hell on the Cerberus troops below. They fell back behind their cover, but even as they retreated, the turrets were returning fire. The rebels poured in to support the advance, but with little cover to hide behind, their losses from Cerberus’ defensive fire were terrible. Bodies began to litter the ground even as the gunship pitched and weaved through the air, trying to dodge the dual barrage of the turrets.

Jack held tight to whatever she could get her hands on as the gunship soared erratically in the skies above the battle. “That was too fucking close!” Alfina screamed as a stream of bullets whizzed by the right of the ship. “We may have to pull back.”

“Shit no! This is the only chance you’ll’ have!” Jack yelled out. 

“She’s right, Alfina,” Seris replied, her voice calm amidst the turmoil. “Our people will die unless we do something!” Her fingers glided over the controls. “I need you to distract those turrets so I can hold the ship steady for a clean shot!”

Jack and Alfina didn’t waste time before following orders. With one hand holding onto a metal bar on the side of the ship, Jack leaned out the open door and raised a glowing hand. Alfina did the same on the other side as the two biotics commenced their attack. Flares, warps, and anything else they could throw at their distant enemies caused explosions of blue energy to ripple off the metallic hulls of the turrets, sending their operators scrambling for cover. 

“Almost got it!” Seris said from the cockpit. 

_ Hurry the fuck up!  _ Jack’s head had begun to feel light as she launched another biotic bomb from her outstretched hand. It erupted like a firework but the damage wasn’t enough to disable the armored weapon and her eyes widened when she saw the Cerberus trooper abandon his cover and climb back into the turret. 

“Now!” Jack screamed. 

Seris’ hand pressed down. “It’s away!”

The missile launched from the gunship in a spiraling motion, causing the three women aboard the ship to hold their collective breath as it soared towards their enemies. The Cerberus forces ceased firing on the advancing rebels long enough to look up to the sky, and though some ran for cover, most didn’t have time to move as the missile landed directly on the right side of the turret, blowing the weapon to pieces. Half of the Cerberus forces were annihilated outright, while others were impaled by flying bits of metal debris.

Everyone aboard the gunship let out a cheer while the alien rebels on the ground jumped at their opening, charging forward with renewed enthusiasm. Yet there was no time to celebrate, the remaining turret already returning fire. 

“Incoming!” Alfina screamed but it was already too late. A burst of turret fire slammed into the front of the gunship and it lurched violently, throwing Jack from her feet in spite of her grip on one of the handrails. Seris returned fire, raking the turret with the railgun, while fighting a losing battle to keep them aloft.

“Brace yourselves,” she yelled back into the hold. “I’ll try to set us down easy, but I’m not making any promises.”

Jack reached out, wrapping both of her arms around one of the seats and holding on for dear life. The gunship jerked again as fresh fire tore into it and in front of her, Alfina threw up a barrier to block the debris that were now spraying back into the hold. Jack followed suit, and not a moment too soon. Moments later, something in the undercarriage of the airship exploded and only the barrier shielded her from the rush of heat and force slamming into her belly.

The next few seconds were a blur of twisting metal and wild motions strong enough to make Jack’s arms feel as if they might be ripped out of their sockets. They weren’t though, nor was the impact of the crash enough to shatter her barriers. It was, however, enough to hurt like a son of a bitch, and as she crawled out of the wreckage, she gritted her teeth, beating down the pain.

The pilot had managed to crash land them in what remained of the Cerberus forces, and the rebels were taking advantage of the chaos their impact had caused.  They surged forward into the broken remains of the Cerberus formation, screaming a variety of alien war cries as they attacked.

Forcing herself back up to her knees, Jack aimed a warp at a nearby Centurion, trying to ignore the ache the ran through her side when she released it. Between her earlier biotic use and the impact, she wasn’t exactly at her best, but fortunately, the Cerberus forces were too overwhelmed to take advantage of that fact. Right then, a pair of krogan had the attention of the nearby soldiers. One of them was cutting the troopers in pieces with a massive axe while the other was using a mixture of his shotgun and a series of vicious headbutts to devastating effect.

Behind her, Jack felt a hand take hold of her, yanking her back to her feet, and she turned around to see Alfina standing there. The asari had purple blood marking the top of her head, but when she saw Jack staring at the wound, she laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s just a love tap.”

“What about your bondmate?”

From the wreckage of the gunship came a pained rasp. “I’ll live.” Seris wasn’t in as good shape as Alfina, one of her arms hanging at an unnatural angle and blood covering a swath of her torso, but she was still alive, and that would have to do for now. Jack and Alfina threw themselves back into the battle, aiding the advancing rebels with a series of warps and biotic throws, and it wasn’t long before the last of the Cerberus troops were put down. That wasn’t a fact that Jack could take much comfort in, though. Above her, the massive structure of the tower loomed, filled with plenty more of the troops they had just defeated.  _ And Miranda. At least if she’s still alive, that is. _


	20. Chapter 20

Jack clenched her blood-stained fists as she admired the scene before her.  The crack of gunfire and the hum of biotics echoed through the halls of Cerberus’ once-glorious fortress. The alien rebels were still pouring in through the makeshift entrance they had blown into the wall. The parade of their footsteps splashed in the thick puddles of red blood that decorated the previously spotless tiled floor. The ground level of Ford’s tower now looked like something out of a horror vid, with the bodies of aliens and armored troopers alike covering the entryway in heaps.

“One floor down, a whole shit load left to go,” Jack commented as she turned to her new companions.

“How many stories does this place even have?” Alfina asked as she slammed a fresh thermal clip into her Avenger. 

Seris favored her right leg as she limped forward, leaning up against a nearby wall for support. “At least seventy by my estimation.”

_ And there’s no way of knowing which one of them the cheerleader is on _ , Jack thought, her earlier enthusiasm diminishing.

“I’m sure the humans aren’t going to make this easy.” Alfina grunted, “If that welcoming party is any indication, this place is crawling with those freaks.” 

“Guess it’s too much to hope the elevator is working,” Seris remarked before she winced in pain. 

Alfina’s stern expression softened as she laid a hand on her bondmate’s shoulder. “You’re not climbing any stairs with your leg like that. Let alone fighting.” 

“I’ll be fine, Alfina.”

As the two asari bickered behind her Jack’s attention turned back to gruesome remnants of the battle. Her gaze found one body that stood out from the bloody crowd. A lone human woman wearing a lab coat emblazoned with Cerberus’ insignia was buried under the hulking corpse of a dead trooper. Her stiff arm was locked in a final act of desperation, reaching up from the pile in a hopeless search for rescue.

For a moment, Jack thought on the likelihood that she would find Miranda in a similar spot, and the idea was enough to make her heart nearly stop in her chest.  _ Fuck that _ , she tried to assure herself. _ The cheerleader can take care of herself. I just need to find her.  _

Suddenly the dead Cerberus woman’s arm caught her eye once more. A bright orange light shone as her omni-tool sprang to life around her stiff limb. Jack cocked her head to the side to read the text that now scrolled along the display. 

_ “Security breaches on floor 1 and 52. All personnel on alert!” _

_ Breach on floor 52? It’s her. It has to be. _

“Hey!” Alfina’s hard voice pulled Jack’s attention back. “You said Ford was on the top levels right?”

“That’s what I heard,” Jack confirmed as she pulled a shotgun from the grip of a dead trooper and salvaged some thermal clips. 

“Let’s move then. We need to make sure he’s dead.”

“Right behind you,” Seris said before Alfina turned back to her. 

“You’ve done enough, Seris. This part was always my strong suit remember? Stay here and help our wounded. The human and I will take care of this.” 

Jack shook her head. “I’m not here for Ford.”

Alfina’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Like you said, that fucker’s probably dead already, and if he’s not, you and your people can handle him. I came here to get Miranda.”

“So you used us?!” Alfina spat, her tone somewhere between angry and hurt. “You used all of us just so you could get in here and rescue Miranda?”

“No, I…” Jack shook her head. “I meant what I said. Cerberus has to go. I just gotta do this too. She can’t die for me.”

Seris shrugged, as usual calmer than her bondmate. “I suppose there’s no talking you out of this.”

“No.” Jack hoisted up the shotgun and set her shoulders. “But don’t worry; I’m sure I’ll kill some more of these Cerberus assholes on the way.”

Alfina nodded. “Good luck then, human. Go get your girlfriend. We’ll meet again when this is over.”

“We will.” Jack turned to leave, but even as she jogged toward the staircase, she couldn’t help yelling back, “And she’s not my fucking girlfriend!”

***

_ Dammit. _

Miranda winced as she dragged her wounded leg behind her. She’d barely escaped the stairwell alive but that didn’t mean she’d gotten out unscathed. Her right knee was collapsing under her, but she steadied herself on the wall with one hand, smearing a bloody palm print on the white paint as she hoisted herself back up.

She kept one hand pressed tightly to the bullet hole in her shoulder while the other tightly gripped the pistol she had relived a dead trooper of. Her broken ribs screamed when she leaned against the wall and stared back at the automatic door she had sealed behind her to cover her escape from the stairwell. 

_ The door won’t hold them for long. Think, dammit.  _

Already she could hear the horde of soldiers on the other side of the wall assembling while one of them decrypted the lock with their omni-tool.  __ Miranda cast a look behind her and saw nothing but an empty lab full of white light and sterile equipment. Her only exits were through the men on the other side of the door via the 50 story drop out the window. In that moment, the latter almost sounded pleasant to her but there wasn’t much time for such planning. A moment, later the door slid open and Miranda dove for cover behind the nearest workbench as a Centurion shouted, “Open fire!”

The focused spray of gunfire tore through the laboratory with terrifying force. Glass shattered, sparks flew, and Miranda could only return a few blind shots around the corner of the workbench and hope she didn’t catch a bullet in the process.

When she heard the sound of the troopers advancing into the laboratory, her eyes turned to the large window once more.  _ That’s the best way,  _ she decided grimly. Even a bullet to her own head might go awry and she had no intention of being taken alive. Gritting her teeth, she raised her arm and fired her last shot, shattering a large pane of the window. The wind roared into the room through the shattered glass, and Miranda took a last deep breath, but that was as long as she intended to delay the inevitable.

The broken glass crunched beneath her boots as she ran toward the shattered window. A handful of seconds seemed to last for lifetimes as each of her footsteps landed. There were many things Miranda could have recalled in her final moments. The  _ Normandy _ , Shepard, Cerberus, her sister. Yet all she could think of as she drew closer to her fatal plunge was Jack. 

But even that was purged from her mind a moment later. A mere six feet from her destination a strong, biotic force collided with her body and sent Miranda flying to the ground. Her teeth dug into her tongue and broken glass cut her flesh as she slid to a stop on the floor, and by the time she’d recovered her bearings, the soldiers were already around her, a half dozen of them using their rifles to press her back down. “End of the line,” one of them chuckled, nudging the barrel against the back of her head.

“No, not like this,” another of them snarled. “This bitch killed Father Ford. A bullet to the head’s too good for her. She goes slow.”

Miranda did her best to ignore their threats, instead trying to find the strength to summon a final biotic attack and at least force them to kill her, but before she could launch it, the ground shook. From far beneath her, the shockwave of an explosion rumbled, causing the group of soldiers to stagger. Cracks of gunfire sounded out as well, but Miranda didn’t have the time to worry about what they portended. This was a chance that she couldn’t pass up, and so instead of attacking, she put every last drop of power she had left into her barriers and hurled herself forward, snatching one of the men’s sidearms from his leg in the process.

The startled soldiers weren’t ready for that, and she managed to knock two more of them out of her way before they could regroup, dashing by the rest as quickly as she could. She could have made it to the window easily enough, but this unexpected opening had made her abandon her suicidal leap, instead making her way back to the stairwell as the men stumbled to their feet behind her.  Only one of the men’s shots landed and it merely bounced off Miranda’s barriers as she turned the corner. The surge of adrenaline kept the pain of her injuries at bay as she sprinted. If somebody else was attacking the tower then maybe, just maybe, she had a real chance of escape that didn’t involved plunging to her death. 

Unfortunately, the distraction didn’t last forever. She only made it down two flights of stairs before the shooting resumed, the force of fresh bullets on her barriers making her stumble. She crashed toward a nearby wall, and though her hands shot out to brace herself against the crash, the impact still made her fall to her knees.

Yet she wouldn’t give up. Not when hope had somehow appeared once more. Her lungs burned and blood was in her mouth, but she kept stumbling down the stairs. The sounds of gunfire beneath her were getting louder, but unfortunately not as quickly as the footsteps of the soldiers coming from above. Even in her battered state, Miranda could tell she wasn’t going to make it more than a few more flights before the battle before they caught up with her.

That’s when she heard another set of footsteps, coming from the other direction. A single set, closing fast, but Miranda couldn’t yet see who they belonged to, and the troopers were almost on top of her.

“Get the fuck away from her, you bastards!”

Miranda didn’t know how it was possible, but right then, she didn’t care. Jack tore into view, rounding the staircase with fire in her eyes, and a shotgun in her arms. The approaching troopers seemed to be just as surprised to see her there as Miranda was, because they didn’t react fast enough. As they tried to adjust to her presence, the convict threw up an arm, and a massive shockwave hurled the first four of them from their feet all at once. Half the men went tumbling to their deaths down the center of the stairwell while the others rolled down past her. 

Before they could rise, Jack’s shotgun crackled, blowing a hole through the chest of the closest man, and Miranda was quick to join in, taking out the remaining survivor with a barrage of fire from her pistol. Her chest heaved with heavy, gasping breaths as she lowered her smoking gun and turned to her savior.

It didn’t seem possible, but there she stood. Jack’s eyes were filled with a mixture of joy and terror as she let her shotgun fall and closed to Miranda’s side. 

“Jack?” Miranda whispered, scarcely able to believe this was real.

“Thought you could just fuck me and then have all the fun on your own, cheerleader?”  The words were Jack’s usual, teasing style but her trademark smirk was absent, replaced with a look of genuine concern.

Miranda tried to think of some clever reply, but the words caught in her throat, and all she could managed was a mumbled, “What are you doing here?”

The biotic swallowed, seemingly as overcome as Miranda herself was. “Long fucking story,” she said after she found her voice. “Right now, we gotta finish this shit.”

Above them, Miranda could hear the remaining Cerberus troopers storming toward her, and yet she no longer feared their approach. Beside her, Jack’s thin frame crackled with biotic energy, and Miranda’s own pain felt as if it was dulled and distant. The galaxy had already delivered her one miracle today; she would make sure that was enough.

***

“So this is the great Father Ford?”

Alfina cast a disdainful glance down at the bloodstained body of the fallen Cerberus leader and snorted. They had found him a corridor on the way to the medical wing, surrounded by the bodies of the troopers who had been taking him there.

Miranda nodded. “It was.” Ford looked smaller somehow now, not the tyrant who had terrorized an entire planet, just a dead old man.

“Hard to recognize him without that big, dumb beard,” Jack snorted. “I guess it was just more of his bullshit.”

“What matters is that he’s dead.” Seris maneuvered herself behind her bondmate, attempting to apply medi-gel to a long cut that ran along her back. “Now, stand still dear. I have to get this patched up before it gets infected.”

“I told you, I’m all right,” Alfina insisted, but Seris paid her no mind, continuing with her ministrations. Miranda could still feel a dull in ache in her own shoulder where the asari had patched up the bullet hole, but the lingering discomfort was overwhelmed by the simple fact of her survival. The tower was now in the hands of the rebels, and somehow, she was still there to see it.

Of course, being alive meant she had other problems to deal with. After the initial moment of relief when they had first reunited, Jack had said very little to her, instead maintaining a wary distance.  _ Not that I can blame her. I knew she’d be angry at me for running off the way I did. I just never thought I’d have to face that anger in person. _

“This isn’t completely over,” Seris pointed out as she finished seeing to Alfina’s wounds. “There are still plenty of Cerberus soldiers out there. They may be leaderless now, but there could still be trouble cleaning them up.”

“Not to mention a planet to get the hell off of,” Alfina added. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve had enough of this shithole to last me a very long lifetime.”

“I can agree with that,” Jack said. “Fuck this planet and fuck Cerberus.”

“Well, you saw to the last part rather effectively,” Miranda offered. “I don’t think they were expecting this sort of all out assault, or realized that there were so many aliens arrayed against them. I certainly didn’t.”

“You deserve your share of the credit too,” Seris said. “If you hadn’t killed Ford, if he’d been able to coordinate their defense and recall the troops Cerberus has out in the field, this attack might have had a very different outcome. As it is, I owe you two humans my thanks.”

Alfina laughed. “Betcha never thought you’d be saying that after these last few months. I certainly didn’t.”

“Perhaps not,” Seris agreed. “But it’s true none the less.”

Miranda winced as she offered a hand to the asari. “If you hadn’t assisted my…” Her eyes turned to Jack as she realized she didn’t know what to call her.  “Friend, I wouldn’t be standing here. Thank you.”

Alfina smirked and shook her hand. “Just friends?”

Jack’s cheeks turned red even while she tried to cover her embarrassment with a roll of her eyes. “Shut up. You just make sure you take out every last Cerberus bastard on this rock before you go.”

“It will be our pleasure,” Seris promised.

“But not every human we’ve met on this planet was sympathetic to Cerberus. I hope you’ll remember that too,” Miranda added. 

Seris gave her a nod, “Don’t worry. I have no intention of being the monsters these assholes made us out to be.”

“Well, if you ever find yourself on Earth, I owe you both a round.” Jack gave one last appreciative smile before turning back down the hall towards the stairs and calling out. “Let’s roll, cheerleader. We still need to find our ride back home.”

_ Home? I’m not sure where that is anymore.  _ The notion of returning to Earth filled Miranda with unexpected dread when she turned to follow her partner.

“Take care of yourselves, humans!” Alfina cried out while Miranda followed Jack in silence down the ruined stairway. She noted with some satisfaction that the bodies of Cerberus soldiers outnumbered those of the alien rebels as she stepped over them, but two levels down her injuries caught up with her once more. Miranda let out a grunt of pain as her knee gave out under her, and she had to brace herself on the blood-stained wall to keep from collapsing while she caught her breath.

“I’ve got you, Miranda.” Jack said softly, and she felt the convict’s arm wrap around her shoulders.

Miranda gave her a small smile before leaning into the woman’s embrace. She knew there would be much to discuss once they reached the bottom of the tower, but for the moment Miranda simply allowed herself to enjoy the warmth of Jack’s company.

_ No one can say I haven’t earned the break. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's just one more chapter to go. It's been a long journey with this story, but it's almost done.


	21. Chapter 21

Nearly every part of Miranda’s body ached as Jack helped her over the threshold and into the apartment. It had been a long walk from the shattered remains of Cerberus’ tower, but as the operative settled into an overstuffed chair, she still managed to quip, “So, here we are again. Right back where we started.”

Jack snorted. “Yeah, here we are. Despite your best efforts to ditch me.”

Miranda slumped down into the cushions, feeling the weight of her fatigue in spite of the medi-gel that she’d been given. The apartment looked much the same as when she’d left it, but it was no longer a place she had to sneak out of, but a refuge she’d returned to while she and Jack figured out their next move.

But before that could happen, it seemed Miranda had some explaining to do. “About that…” She begun cautiously. Now that it was all over, her decision didn’t seem as easy to justify as it had that morning when she was talking herself into going. But she had to try, to get Jack to at least understand, if not to agree with what she’d done. “Look, I know you might have been upset when you realized I’d left…”

“Upset?!” Jack drew herself up to her full height, her muscles tensing with semi-controlled fury. “I  _ might _ have been upset?! You fucking run off on me, after we…” Her voice trailed off and a look that seemed more confused than angry now crossed her face. “Okay, I don’t know exactly what it was that happened with us, but it wasn’t cool for you to bail on me afterwards.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Miranda admitted. “And I’m sorry. But I couldn’t just watch you die, Jack. Not for my mistakes. I knew that we had to stop Cerberus and anything else I could think of, any kind of a direct assault… well, I couldn’t imagine a way that either of us made it out alive.”

“You didn’t fucking think about it hard enough,” Jack insisted. “Cause I found a way to survive, didn’t I?”

“You did. I didn’t know the extent of Alfina’s army, or that she had that gunship. Didn’t know that there was a chance that you could...”  She paused, stopping herself before she reached for further justifications. She had made a mistake in how she’d treated Jack, and she had to own up to it or risk losing her forever. “No, you’re right. I shouldn’t have left you that way. You have every right to be angry with me.” 

To her pleasant surprise, Jack didn’t press her advantage and attack again. Instead, she settled down into a chair across from Miranda, sitting close enough that the operative could see the conflicted expression on her face. “I was. For a solid minute there, I was really pissed off at you. But then, I was…” She swallowed hard, seemingly debating whether or not to finish her sentence, but finally she continued, “I was scared, Miranda. You didn’t want to see me die? That’s nice. How do you think I felt? Do you know how many fucking people that I cared about have died already? Did you really think I’d let you be another one of them? That I’d just leave you here and go do what? What the fuck did you think I’d do after you died?”

The words came out before Miranda could think better of them. “Be happy.”

Jack shook her head and leaned back in her seat. “I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve been happy, Cheerleader. That night, being with you… It was one of ‘em.” 

Miranda crossed her arms under her chest and met Jack’s gaze. “It meant a lot to me as well. If I had known the way you felt… I’m sorry, Jack.  It wasn’t right to leave you without saying a word, but it wouldn’t have been right for me to get you killed either. Not when there was a way that I could do it myself without anyone else dying.”

“I guess if that Ford bastard had given me a free ticket to kill his ass without putting you in the crosshairs, I would have gone for it too.”

“So, are we good?”

Jack nodded. “We are.”

After a long silence Miranda rose to her feet. “Well, then, I suppose we should find you a ride home.”

“What?” Jack asked with a huff.

“The target has been eliminated...the mission’s over, Jack.” 

“But what about you? You’re not coming back to Earth?” 

She shook her head. “There’s nothing waiting for me there but a cell.” 

“The Admiral said he’d-”

Before Jack could finish, Miranda interrupted. “The Admiral made an offer that I suspect he had no intention of upholding. And even if he did deliver, the people of Earth won’t soon forget the things I’ve done. Perhaps they’re right not to.”

Jack swallowed hard and looked down at her feet. “Yeah… I guess neither of us went into this thinking much about the future. So what happens now?” 

Miranda took a deep breath. “I think it’s in everyone’s best interests if Miranda Lawson died on Typhon. I still have a few aliases from my Cerberus days I can fall back on. I’ll have to lay low for a while, probably change my appearance for the foreseeable future.” She threaded her fingers through her dark hair. “I’ve always wondered how I’d look as a blonde.” 

Jack chuckled. “Pretty fucking hot, I’d bet. But what will you do?” 

“Not a problem.” Miranda reached into her pocket and produced the OSD. “This was the Illusive Man’s parting gift to Ford,” she explained. “It contains every remaining asset of Cerberus, every operative, every project. Everything the organization was.”

Jack shot to her feet. “You’re not gonna restart that shit are you?”

Miranda stared at the device for a moment. A thoughtful expression crossed her face as she turned the small OSD around in her hand. “I used a terminal back in the tower to transfer all of Cerberus’ remaining liquid funds to a private account. Several million credits in total, more than enough to start a new life with. But the project logs, all the data Cerberus learned from the Reapers and by torturing innocent people like you, everything that remains of Cerberus…  Thought I’d leave that on here.” Miranda extended her hand and offered the device to the convict.  “I figured you’d want to do the honors.”

For a few seconds Jack could only stare at the offering in disbelief. “You’re serious? That’s it? That’s everything that’s left of it?” 

“Everything that could relaunch the organization,” Miranda confirmed. 

“And you’re just giving it to me?” 

“If anyone deserves it, it’s you, Jack.”

Jack raised a glowing hand and a small biotic field enveloped the OSD and lifted it from Miranda’s grasp. A blue glow filled the room as the device hovered between the two women. Miranda couldn’t keep herself from smiling as without further hesitation, Jack closed her fist and shattered the last true remnant of Cerberus. Jack let the plastic splinters fall to the coffee table between them before giving Cerberus a final farewell, spitting on the pile of remains. 

“A fitting end,” Miranda said. For a moment she paused, looking down at the shattered remains of the OSD before asking, “So, about your ride back to earth… When did you want to…”

“Cancel it.” Miranda eyes widened as she looked at Jack, the expression on the convict’s face deadly serious. “You’re not the only one who’s got no good reason to go back there. You really think I want to spend the rest of my life wearing a uniform and saluting a bunch of stuck-up Alliance brass like a good girl?”

Miranda laughed. “No, I suppose that doesn’t seem much like you at all. But if you’re not heading back to Earth, then where will you go?”

Jack rolled her eyes. “Shit, cheerleader, are you gonna make me say it?”

A cautious smile appeared on Miranda’s face, a seed of hope beginning to bloom within her. She couldn’t quite believe she was going to ask this question, but it seemed the only possible explanation for Jack’s question. “Do you mean to say that you want to come with me instead?”

Jack nodded almost imperceptibly. “Look, I’ve never been any good at this feelings bullshit, and this thing with us, I don’t know what the fuck it is. But I know we get shit done together. This mission seemed like total suicide and yet here we are, still breathing. You’re a badass, Miranda, and fuck, you’re pretty damn good in bed too, so yeah, I was thinking we might stick together a while longer and see where this takes us.” She paused, and a sudden uncertainty seemed to overtake her. “At least if you’re game, anyway.”

Miranda smiled, the expression now covering her whole face. “When all this started, I’d have said you were crazy if you suggested something like that.  Now, though… there’s no one I’d rather have by my side, Jack.”  The same grin now covered the convict’s face, and Miranda placed her hand on her hips and added, “So I’m pretty damn good in bed am I?”

The tension broken, Jack laughed. “Yeah, well, don’t let it go to your head.”

Miranda’s smile turned to a wry grin, and she said, “I’ll do my best.  And I’d be glad to give you a further demonstration of my skills, at least if I wasn’t in considerable danger of coming apart in pieces if I try to exert myself anymore tonight.”

Jack rose from her chair, crossing the distance between them in two swift strides. She took Miranda’s head in her hands and without words or hesitation, brought it to meet hers. The kiss that followed was surprisingly soft and slow, and as Miranda drank its warmth, a sense of elation ran through her weary body. She had left for Typhon with nothing and she had left the apartment this morning with a quick death the best she could hope for, but now...

“Don’t worry about it,” Jack told her when she finally drew back. “We’ve got time.”

***

“I think I’ve got the idea.” Across the comm link, Seris smiled. The asari looked much better than the last time Miranda had seen her, her wounds healed, and her face far less haggard. “When the Alliance gets here, I’ll be sure to tell them that your mission was a success but that you and Jack died when we stormed the tower.”

“Thank you,” Miranda said. “For that. And for everything else.”

“You two saved my bondmate,” Seris replied with a respectful nod, “And you killed Ford. I’ll be happy to consider us even, at least as long as you look after that other human. She went through a lot of trouble to make sure you survived. Don’t forget that.”

Miranda smiled brightly. “I won’t.”

The link closed and from the other side of the cockpit of the ship that would be their home for the next couple of days, Jack asked, “So, are we good?”

“We are. Miranda Lawson and Subject Zero are dead and we’re free to go wherever we want. Or least wherever this salvaged freighter can take us.”

“Shit…”Jack muttered, staring out the viewport as they exited Typhon’s atmosphere. 

“A bit daunting isn’t it?” Miranda said softly as she monitored the navigation terminal. “Freedom,” she elaborated. “I’ve never really had the chance to do whatever I want… At this point, I’m not sure I even know what that is.”

“I spent half of my life locked up and the other half fighting to stay alive. I don’t have a damn clue what normal people do with their lives,” Jack agreed as she eyed the relay on the other side of the field of wreckage that still orbited Typhon. 

Miranda carefully navigated their ship through the dead vessels, not taking her eyes from the controls as she spoke. “In all that time you spent on Pragia or wherever else you’ve been imprisoned, did you ever dream about what you’d do if you were free?” 

“You mean after I made whichever bastards who locked me up pay for it?”

Miranda chuckled. “Yes, after that.”

Jack fell silent for a moment and a thoughtful look crossed her face as she leaned back in her chair. “Guess I always thought about getting away from everything. No more fighting, no people to screw me over, somewhere I could actually live instead of just surviving.”

“Sounds about perfect to me.” Miranda agreed.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Jack swallowed nervously and looked down into her lap. “Miranda, I...I want to thank you.”

“Thank me? You’re the one who saved my life,” Miranda reminded her. “More than once.”

“I was only returning the favor,” Jack said softly. “You pulled me out of the wreckage when we landed. But it’s not just that...” Her voice trailed off for a moment, and then she said, “When we first got here, I’d just about given up.”

Miranda’s heart fluttered in her chest. She understood just what Jack was saying; not long ago, she wouldn’t have cared whether or not she left Typhon alive. But not anymore. Now, she had hope for the future, much of it thanks to the woman sitting next to her. She didn’t have to say anything though; Jack could see the change in her as clearly as Miranda could understand the one that had taken place in the convict, so she simply asked, “Do you have any idea where we might find this getaway?”

Jack shrugged. “I guess I’ve kinda always wanted to see a good beach.”

“I believe I can make that happen.” Miranda’s hands glided over the nav console, making the final adjustments that brought them clear of the debris field. “I’d say we’ve both earned a bit of a vacation.”

Jack nodded before she turned her gaze away from the woman. “So, uh...what’s our cover supposed to be?” 

“Our cover?” 

“That’s what you call it right? If we’re supposed to be dead, we’re gonna need a cover for when we get to wherever the hell we’re going right?”

“They’ll be plenty of time to sort that out during the voyage.” 

Miranda had tried to brush off her concern but Jack kept pressing. “Yeah, but what are we supposed to be? Partners in fucking up Cerberus doesn’t quite cut it anymore.”

“True,” Miranda agreed with a chuckle, finally sensing what Jack was truly asking about. “Then how about we’re a pair of girlfriends taking a trip?”

_ And here I thought you hated relationships, Jack.  _

Jack crossed her arms and looked away to hide the blush coming to her cheeks. “I guess I can live with that.” The sarcasm dropped from her tone when she asked her next question. “And what about after this little vacation? What happens then?”

“I suppose we’ll find that out…” Miranda looked over to her partner and extended one hand. “Together?” 

Jack took her hand gently, allowing Miranda to intertwine their fingers, and a smile now covered the biotic’s face. “Yeah… together. I like the sound of that.”

_ Me too. _

As the Mass Relay grew closer, Miranda held tight to Jack’s hand. Tendrils of blue energy sparked, hitting their ship as they drifted into its pull. She didn’t know what place the galaxy had left for her, but for the first time in Miranda Lawson’s life she didn’t care. She would find her own way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the end. It was a bit different from a lot of what I've written, but Amity and I are pleased with how it came out in the end. I hope you feel the same way, and please leave your thoughts in the comments.


End file.
